25 Years.
One Focus.
Intellectual Property.
Karich & Associates was founded in 2000 with a single purpose: exclusive focus on intellectual property law. Not as a department. Not as a practice group. As the only thing we do. That focus is what has produced a 90% patent allowance rate, an 80% appeal win rate, and zero patents invalidated in court over a 25-year career.
"We want to change the world with you — one invention at a time."
Built on one conviction: IP deserves specialists.
Karich & Associates was founded in 2000, originally in Irvine, California, and now based in Huntington Beach. From the beginning, the firm was built around a single conviction: intellectual property law is too important and too specialized to be treated as one practice area among many. It is the only thing we do.
Eric Karich wrote his first video game on an Apple II and launched his first software business, LegalGate, in 1996 at the very start of the internet era. That experience as an entrepreneur and technologist shapes how the firm thinks about every client engagement. We understand what you are building because we have been in that position ourselves.
Since founding the firm, Eric has helped launch hundreds of successful products and startups, raised capital through angel investors, technology incubators, and government grants, and built international patent portfolios in over 30 countries. The practice has expanded to cover every major technology area while maintaining the exclusive IP focus that started on day one.
Our dedication to intellectual property law sets us apart. A firm that does only IP develops capabilities that a general practice firm simply cannot match. Every team member, every process, and every decision is built around making your IP stronger.
Eric's published writing on IP law
The attorney behind every single application
Eric Karich has practiced exclusively in patent and trademark law for over 25 years, preparing more than 1,000 patent applications with a 90% allowance rate that surpasses major IP firms. His practice focuses primarily on software, business methods, artificial intelligence, and machine learning, with deep experience across mechanical, chemical, and life science inventions.
Eric wrote his first video game on an Apple II and launched LegalGate in 1996, one of the first profitable internet startups in the legal space. That background as a technologist and entrepreneur shapes how he approaches every client. He understands what it means to build something new and what it takes to protect it properly.
His career has included positions at the intellectual property firm of Lyon & Lyon in Los Angeles, the International Trade Commission in Washington D.C., and Gauntlett & Associates in Irvine. Eric also holds two patents personally, including one on an early smartphone message recording system and one for an electronic mobility device for the visually impaired.
Eric lives in Aliso Viejo with his wife Amy and their four children, Hayden, Avery, Ariel, and Olivia. His interests include surfing, playing basketball, and skiing.
Multidisciplinary. Fully dedicated.
We employ multidisciplinary professionals whose technical backgrounds and legal expertise work together to serve the full range of our clients' IP needs. Every person on the team is here because they understand intellectual property and nothing else.
Technology and Software
Deep technical backgrounds in software engineering, AI systems, mobile platforms, and computer-implemented methods allow us to understand inventions at the level they need to be claimed.
Patent Prosecution and Strategy
Experienced in drafting applications, navigating office actions, and building prosecution records that hold up under examination and in court. Strategy begins at the first draft, not after rejection.
International IP and Enforcement
Experienced in coordinating PCT filings, managing national phase entries, and building enforceable international portfolios across more than 30 countries.
