Holly Hawkins Saporito

• Counsel to the plaintiff, a leading prepaid and payment solutions provider, in a patent enforcement action against a direct competitor. 
• Counsel to a corporate plaintiff alleging theft of trade secrets and breach of contract, ultimately recovering $38 million, plus a sizable running royalty on all future sales. 
• Obtained a TRO against a direct competitor of a specialty chemical manufacturer in a patent infringement lawsuit. 
• Obtained summary judgment in favor of the defendant, a large restaurant franchisor, in a trademark infringement lawsuit in federal court in which the plaintiff sought a nationwide injunction against use of the company’s mark. 
• Frequently serves as patent litigation counsel to groups of retailers defending e-commerce or database system claims brought by formerly practicing or nonpracticing entities. 
• Counsel to multiple companies, including one of the nation’s largest mobile communications companies, a large cable service provider, a major insurance company, and a large banking institution, in multidistrict patent infringement litigation against Ronald A. Katz Technology Licensing LP. 
• Appellate counsel to a medical manufacturer and food processing client in cases before the Federal Circuit. 
• Counsel to a leading packaging solutions company in patent litigation matters. 
• Counsel to a multibrand restaurant operator, international upscale retailer, large insurance company, international hotel chain, and social networking website in trademark and domain name enforcement activities. 
• Defending a large appliance manufacturer against infringement claims relating to online and premise-based electronic catalogs. 
• Counsel to a wire and cable company asserting its patent rights in the electrical cable field. 

Holly Hawkins Saporito is a partner in Alston & Bird’s Intellectual Property Litigation and Trademark & Copyright Groups.

As an engineer and registered patent attorney, Holly has spent more than a decade litigating complex patent disputes in federal district courts, the Federal Circuit, and the USPTO, as well as assisting clients with patent licensing issues. She also has more than 10 years of experience assisting clients of all sizes with trademark and copyright litigation, enforcement and portfolio management, false advertising claims, and domain name enforcement.

Holly represents clients in a wide variety of industries, such as payment systems, retail, food and beverage, telecommunications, web-enabled services, energy management systems, computer software, hospitality, and pharmaceuticals. She represents companies at all stages of growth, from startup to Fortune 500, in their intellectual property issues. 

Holly earned a B.S. in industrial engineering, with high distinction and with honors, in 2001 from Penn State, where she was selected as the Outstanding Senior in Industrial Engineering. Before attending law school, she worked in the Engineering Sciences and Applications Division of Los Alamos National Laboratory. In 2005, Holly received a J.D., with honors, from the George Washington University Law School, where she was a member of The George Washington Law Review.

Bar Admissions

• Georgia
• U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Education

• The George Washington University (J.D., 2005)
• Pennsylvania State University (B.S., 2001)