Erika Harmon Arner

Erika Harmon Arner, leader of the firm’s electrical and computer technology practice group, is a nationally recognized leader in trial practice before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) and related appeals to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. She consistently ranks as one of the top three female attorneys appearing in PTAB trials and was named a PTAB Litigator of the Year by Managing Intellectual Property. She has argued and won a number of landmark cases at the PTAB and Federal Circuit for both patent challengers and patent owners.

Erika’s practice focuses on patent office trials, client counseling, and litigation, with an emphasis on electronic technology and computer software. She has represented patent owners and petitioners in nearly 200 PTAB trials, most as lead counsel. Erika has also argued and won appeals from PTAB trials to the Federal Circuit, many of which involve issues of first impression. She has also successfully defended district court decisions on appeal at the Federal Circuit.

In addition to her extensive experience in patent office and appellate practice, Erika is a well-known authority in the area of patent-eligibility jurisprudence. Since representing the petitioners before the U.S. Supreme Court in Bilski v. Kappos, she has handled dozens of cases involving issues related to patentable subject matter before the Federal Circuit, U.S. district courts, and PTAB. Erika also advises clients on patent strategy and portfolio management.

Erika is a leader in the IP bar and a champion for women in IP. She co-founded the Washington, DC chapter of Women in IP Network (WIN) and serves in leadership roles on the women’s committees of the Intellectual Property Owner’s Association (IPO) and the PTAB Bar Association. She is a frequent author and lecturer on computer-related patents, patent strategy, and PTAB practice and co-edits The Practitioners Guide to Trials Before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, published by the American Bar Association, Section of Intellectual Property Law.

Over her career, Erika has been recognized for her post-grant and patent litigation practices by leading publications, including Intellectual Asset Management, The Legal 500, and Managing IP. For the past several years, she has been named by Managing IP as one of the “Top 250 Women in IP.”