Louis was born and raised in Wilmington, Delaware. He obtained his undergraduate degree in 1981 from Princeton University and his law degree in 1984 from Harvard Law School, both with honors. In school, Louis learned much about computers and technology. After graduating from Harvard, Louis moved to Arizona to join Brown & Bain, a nationally known intellectual-property firm based in Phoenix (now part of Perkins Coie). In 1990, Louis joined a small patent boutique called Lisa & Lisa and he opened an office with one of the Lisa partners in 1991, which became known as the “Patent It” group – an affiliation of lawyers involved in procuring, enforcing, and licensing patents, which was active from 1992-2003. From 2003-2007, Louis was senior partner at Hoffman & Zur, which was a firm designed to commercialize and enforce valuable patents.
Since 1991, Louis has advised independent inventors, small and mid-sized companies, and start-ups on protecting patents, copyrights, and trademarks through the law firm of Louis J. Hoffman, P.C., now known as the Hoffman Patent Firm. The firm actively pursued patent applications, licensing drafting, intellectual property enforcement, and some trademark and copyright work. Louis has been named by Intellectual Asset Management (IAM) Magazine as one of the top 250 most influential patent licensing professionals and one of the world’s top 300 IP strategists.
Louis is a co-inventor on four patents:
Louis met his wife Kathy in 1985 in Phoenix. They have two children, Seth and Ellie.
Mr. Hoffman has remained active in pro-invention activities, including defending U.S. patent law. Mr. Hoffman has been a noted speaker on patent rights.