Rochester, New York, December 22, 2025 – Harter Secrest & Emery LLP, a full-service business law firm with offices throughout New York, is pleased to announce that Joshua Schum-Houck has joined the firm’s Intellectual Property practice as a patent agent in the Rochester office.
Schum-Houck holds both a Master’s and Bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Rochester and concentrates his practice on patent prosecution in the biomedical optics and medical device industry. His experience spans technologies such as surgical imaging systems, endoscopic visualization platforms, phototherapy devices, diagnostic sensors, and advanced optical instruments for minimally invasive procedures.
Schum-Houck joins Harter Secrest & Emery from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) where he worked as a patent examiner. While at the USPTO, Schum-Houck examined patent applications for a wide of range of medical devices including pacemakers, diagnostic ECG software and AI processing, ophthalmic surgical systems, robotic surgical platforms, phototherapy devices, and optical diagnostic tools. He collaborated closely with inventors, patent attorneys and supervisory examiners to assess the validity and strength of patent applications.
Prior to joining the USPTO, Schum-Houck served as a Clinical Account Manager at Intellijoint Surgical, a manufacturer of surgical navigation solutions for joint replacements. He also worked as a Project Manager Liaison with the University of Rochester Biomedical Engineering Department, guiding student design teams as they worked with clinicians to solve real-world engineering challenges.
Schum-Houck is the second professional from the USPTO to join Harter Secrest & Emery’s Intellectual Property group this year. Amy Hahn Paris, a former Trademark Examining Attorney, joined the firm in October.
Harter Secrest & Emery’s Intellectual Property practice group provides comprehensive intellectual property legal services to clients of all sizes throughout the United States and in foreign countries. The firm’s attorneys assist clients in building and maintaining intellectual property portfolios, including patents, trademarks, trade secrets, and copyrights, and have extensive experience negotiating and drafting licensing agreements, and serving as lead counsel in complex patent and other intellectual property litigation.
About Harter Secrest & Emery LLP
Harter Secrest & Emery LLP is a full-service business law firm with attorneys throughout New York representing clients ranging from individuals and family-owned businesses to Fortune 100 companies and major regional institutions. With offices in Rochester, Buffalo, Albany, Corning, and New York City, New York, the firm and its attorneys are consistently recognized by the industry’s leading law firm and attorney ranking programs, including Chambers and Partners, Best Law Firms® and The Best Lawyers in America®.