Patent litigation at Alston & Bird has roots that stretch back more than 90 years. Our litigators have represented clients in both jury and bench trials in the federal and state courts of at least 45 states, in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and in the International Trade Commission (ITC). We have obtained nine-figure jury verdicts for plaintiffs and provided robust support to defendants, achieving numerous summary judgment victories. Our group includes more than 45 attorneys registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, including three Ph.D.s and many more with master’s degrees in scientific and engineering fields.
Our group has specialists in many areas, including biochemistry, pharmaceuticals, chemistry, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, genetics, medical and biomedical products, telecommunications, computer software and business methods. Our lawyers handle patent cases of all types and sizes. Whether we are protecting a maturing company’s latest innovations, representing multiple defendants against infringement charges by a nonpracticing entity or undertaking high-stakes, mission-critical patent litigation, our team is prepared to serve you.
Patent Litigation
Patent litigation ranges from suits accusing infringement of a range of generic claims to complex litigation involving business-critical technology. Our patent litigation team works with you to understand your overall business goals and what is at stake in the suit – deciding to evaluate your specific needs for efficient solutions or staunch approaches to achieve desired outcomes.
- Defended a multinational telecommunications company and a leading wireless network operator against claims of infringement on three patents related to base station and beam forming technology. The plaintiff asked for damages of approximately $300 million, but the East Texas jury found our clients did not infringe the patents at issue and therefore had $0 liability. (E.D. Tex.)
- Led a multinational telecommunications corporation and its licensing subsidiary against Amazon and HP Inc. in a pair of actions involving video coding standards, including H.264, H.265, and AV1. Early settlement was achieved with HP, and in a preliminary determination by the administrative law judge (ALJ), Amazon was found to have infringed four of five patents asserted. The ALJ separately recommended that the ITC issue an exclusion order against Amazon products that infringed our client’s essential video coding patents. (ITC)
- Defending five of the world’s leading telecommunications corporations against a series of cases filed by Pegasus Wireless Innovation asserting infringement of 11 patents related to 4G/LTE and 5G wireless technologies. Pretrial conference is set for August 2025. (E.D. Tex.)
- Defended the U.S. arm of a Finnish telecommunications giant against allegations that its router products infringed four patents owned by Smart Path Communications. The jury cleared our client of all claims of infringement, finding one patent not infringed, one patent invalid, and one patent invalid and not infringed. The court held a fourth asserted patent not infringed and granted summary judgment before the trial. (E.D. Tex.)
- Defended the U.S. arm of a Finnish telecommunications giant against allegations that its router products infringed three patents owned by Correct Transmission. The jury cleared our client of all claims of infringement, finding that all three asserted patents were not infringed. After a brief deliberation, the verdict secured a complete victory for our client. (E.D. Tex.)
- Secured consecutive trial victories in a contract dispute with Optoelectronics Co. Ltd., a significant competitor in the bar code reader industry. At the heart of the dispute was a license and settlement agreement that resolved two patent infringement actions brought by our client against Opto. In the first trial victory, an eight-person jury found that Opto breached the prior licensing agreement because Opto failed to pay royalties on 2D barcode scanner technology products. In a subsequent bench trial, Judge Bell granted our motion for judgment on Opto’s counterclaim for patent misuse, a cause of action accompanied by allegations of market power and anticompetitive behavior. Rather than consider the issue further or request additional briefing, Judge Bell orally ruled in our client’s favor as soon as the parties rested. (W.D.N.C.)
- Negotiated a favorable settlement for a Finnish telecommunications giant after narrowing the case through favorable claim constructions. TQ Delta asserted 19 DSL-technology-related patents and had originally approached our client many years earlier, asking for over $200 million in licensing fees. Through various strategic decisions in both the litigation and seven IPRs that were filed – including IPRs directed to strategic patents not asserted against our client – our client was able to settle the case for less than 6% of the original demand. (E.D. Tex.)
- Defended an international medical device company in a patent lawsuit related to vascular grafts. Following a two-day bench trial, the court entered judgment in favor of our client after holding that the plaintiff’s attempt to enforce a minimum royalty payment provision in a license agreement beyond a certain date constituted patent misuse. (D. Ariz.)
- Represented four of the world’s leading telecommunications corporations as defendants and intervenors in a three-patent case brought by Howlink relating to cellular infrastructure and femtocell products. The plaintiff dropped two patents before expert discovery, and we obtained a rare order granting summary judgment of no infringement for the remaining patent. The court later entered final judgment completely in our clients’ favor. (E.D. Tex.)
- Secured a clean-sweep defense jury verdict for an international real estate brokerage and a 3D spatial mapping technology company in patent litigation before Judge Albright in the Western District of Texas. After a short deliberation, the jury returned a verdict that all 10 asserted claims for four patents were invalid and not infringed by our client’s products. The plaintiffs alleged that our client infringed these patents related to 3D home tours and sought damages exceeding $66.5 million. (W.D. Tex.)
- Represented a Fortune 500 technology company in an ITC patent infringement investigation action with claims the patents cover a certain content protection scheme promulgated by Intel known as the High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection System, version 2.x (HDCP 2.x). We continue to represent our client in a parallel district court case involving four patents related to content protection. (ITC, D. Del.)
- Represented one of the country’s largest fire truck manufacturers in a patent infringement action against a major competitor. The patent related to improved fire truck configuration (longer and stronger ladder and bigger water tank). After a six-day jury trial, the jury found in favor of our client, awarding $1.46 million in damages and finding that the infringement was willful. Post-trial, we defeated the defendant’s motion for judgment as a matter of law on infringement and lost profits. (M.D. Fla.)
- In a major victory for the market leader in temperature-controlled shipping, defeated a preliminary injunction motion filed by plaintiff DoubleDay Acquisitions LLC (dba CSafe). The complaint alleged that our client infringed two patents related to temperature-controlled shipping containers key to the COVID-19 supply chain. We also represent our client in pursuing inter partes review against CSafe’s asserted patents. Two of the IPRs have been instituted, while the other two are pending pre-institution decision. (N.D. Ga., PTAB)
Highlights
Managing IP Names 15 Alston & Bird Attorneys as ‘IP Stars’
Fifteen Alston & Bird attorneys have been named “IP Stars” by Managing IP in its 2025 rankings of the world’s leading intellectual property practitioners and practices.
Alston & Bird Earns Broad Recognition in 2025 IAM Patent 1000
For the fourteenth consecutive year, Alston & Bird has been recognized as a global leader in patent law by Intellectual Asset Management in its annual IAM Patent 1000 – The World’s Leading Patent Professionals.
Alston & Bird Defeats $253M Patent Infringement Claim Against T-Mobile and Ericsson
Alston & Bird represented T-Mobile and Ericsson against Plaintiff General Access, who sought $253M for alleged infringement of two patents directed to base station equipment in T-Mobile’s network. On April 11, an Eastern District of Texas jury issued a complete defense verdict finding no infringement of either patent and awarding no damages.
Alston & Bird Shortlisted for Multiple Awards by Managing IP’s Americas Awards 2025
Alston & Bird has been shortlisted as “Firm of the Year” in four categories by Managing IP’s Americas Awards 2025. Additionally, partners John Haynes and Ted Stevenson have been named to the “Litigator of the Year” shortlists for IP excellence in their respective states.
Alston & Bird Once Again Honored by Patexia as an ITC Market Leader
Alston & Bird has been ranked the No. 1 best-performing firm overall representing complainants and respondents in Section 337 investigations conducted by the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC).
Mike Newton | The Changing Patent Troll Landscape
Mike Newton, co-chair of the firm’s intellectual property area and partner in the IP litigation group, discusses the America Invents Act’s impact on non-practicing entity (NPE) litigation.
Natalie Clayton | IP Litigation - Best Practices For Trying a Patent Or Technology-Heavy Case
Natalie Clayton, partner in the Intellectual Property Litigation group and leader of the Biotechnology, Pharmaceutical & Life Sciences Patent Litigation team, discusses the import factors for making sure your technology-driven case is trial ready.