Find Lawyers in Houston, Texas for Litigation - Intellectual Property
Practice Area Overview
IP is protected by specific laws relating to patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets; these laws acknowledge an innovator’s ownership of his or her novel creation and give that innovator the exclusive right, for a defined period of time, to use and benefit from it.
Litigation of IP matters takes several forms. One involves patents, which cover inventions on designs and products, as well as the processes through which they are manufactured or used. Patent infringement refers to the unauthorized use of a patented invention, at which point litigation can arise. A “Hatch-Waxman” litigation is a particular kind of patent dispute involving generic versus brand pharmaceutical products and processes and infringement of the patent(s) covering these.
Trademarks and copyrights also can be infringed. A trademark can be a symbol, logo, word, sound, color, or name that identifies the source of a product and distinguishes it from that of others. Copyrights protect works of authorship, such as writings, music, and art. Copyrights and trademarks grant holders exclusive rights to use their works, and an unauthorized use can lead to litigation. Trade secrets are information that companies keep secret to give them an advantage over competitors. Misappropriation of trade secrets is a typical litigation scenario when such information is taken without authority.
Licensing disputes can arise that relate to any of these protections. A licensing agreement is essentially a contract between an IP rights owner and an entity authorized to use such rights, usually in exchange for an agreed upon fee or royalty. The extent to which parties do or do not follow the terms of that contract often engenders this type of litigation.
Other kinds of IP litigation can include variations of the above, including trademark dilution, “cybersquatting,” pirated and “knock-off” commercial goods, domain name disputes, domestic and foreign customs seizures, and unfair competition.
IP assets are a valuable foundation of any successful venture, so when unauthorized use occurs, disputes are bound to arise.
Amir Alavi handles complex commercial litigation throughout the world with a particular focus on intellectual property cases. IAM Patent 1000 – The World’s Leading Patent Professionals describes him as an “unflappable advocate that you can greenlight for a billion-dollar case with 100% confidence,” and a “judicious strategist” with an “acute sense of how to present a damages case.” He’s been recognized for his intellectual property work by...
Demetrios Anaipakos is widely considered to be one of the country’s top civil trial lawyers, representing both plaintiffs and defendants in patent and complex commercial litigation for nearly three decades. Among his many high-profile victories, Mr. Anaipakos helped a client obtain, and collect, one of the largest patent judgments in the history of the United States; won jury trials against some of the largest technology companies in the world; and has architected dozens of successful i...
In the course of your career, you will likely face at least one legal dispute that you can't afford to lose but can't resolve without expert help. To manage the risk successfully, you will need to partner with someone who has the necessary experience, skill, and resources. Many people in your position seek to engage me to do just that. Read on to see why. Trial counsel People who should know have described me as an "incredibly gifted lawyer" (Chambers and Partners) who is "magic in the courtr...
David J. Beck is consistently recognized as one of our country’s best trial lawyers. This recognition has grown from the consistent results he has achieved for his clients in his more than forty years of practice. From the smallest disputes to the billion dollar cases, David understands the importance of each case to his client, and he approaches each with the same intensity and integrity that has served him - and his clients - so well for so long. For David Beck, every case is a story ...
Allan Bullwinkel’s practice focuses on patent litigation related to computer and electrical engineering technologies in federal district courts and inter partes review at the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board. He also handles cases involving patent-related antitrust litigation and IP-related appeals before the Federal Circuit. With an engineering degree and many years of prior work experience as an engineer, Mr. Bullwinkel brings a robust understanding of technical issues and an abilit...
Russell Chorush is a co-founder of Houston-based Heim, Payne & Chorush, a patent litigation boutique that is known for its sophisticated and effective litigation related to patent infringement and patent-related antitrust work. Russ is a true pioneer in patent-related antitrust litigation against pharmaceutical companies under the Sherman Antitrust Act and FTC v. Actavis, Inc., 133 S. Ct. 2223 (2013). Russ plays leadership roles on multifirm teams and has assisted in securing groundbreaki...
Scott W. Clark is a registered U.S. patent attorney with more than 25 years of experience representing clients in all aspects of intellectual property and other technology-related business controversies. He has litigated dozens of patent disputes in numerous U.S. jurisdictions and before the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC). He has significant experience in all phases of civil litigation, from pre-filing through trial and appeal. His practice is focused on patent and trade secret dis...
Zeke DeRose is a member of The Lanier Law Firm’s Commercial Litigation section. He brings extensive experience to plaintiffs and defendants in a range of disputes before courts and in arbitration, including complex commercial and business litigation, antitrust, licensing disputes, merger disputes, qui tam (under both state and federal False Claims Act), federal securities, and intellectual property. He has represented both large and small clients across the nation in federal court, arbi...
Eric Enger is able to provide deep understanding of the issues at the heart of patent disputes involving complicated technology. Clients look to him for his skills in running cases, formulating legal strategies, writing compelling briefs, and oral advocacy. He manages cases with extreme diligence and attention to detail. Mr. Enger’s practice focuses on patent litigation and post-grant challenges at the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board. He prosecutes and defends high-tech companies in ...
Alden Harris’ litigation experience spans a variety of technical fields. These include electrical and computer engineering, telecommunications, and biochemistry, and he’s put this knowledge to use litigating patent infringement cases in courts across the United States. Mr. Harris previously served as a law clerk to the Honorable Roy Payne of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas in Marshall, Texas, and served as an acting law clerk to District Judge Ro...
Heim, Payne & Chorush co-founder Michael Heim specializes exclusively in intellectual property litigation and antitrust lawsuits involving intellectual property. Mr. Heim represents plaintiffs and defendants throughout the United States in patent litigation in a wide range of technologies including microprocessors, computer architecture, memory control systems, cellular telephone systems, data transmission systems, on-line gaming systems, database caching software, logging-while-drilling ...
Bill practices in substantially all areas of intellectual property law, with an emphasis on patent litigation in the electronics, oilfield equipment, the internet, and computer-related fields. In particular Bill has successfully represented computer manufacturers, computer component manufacturers, mobile phone handset manufacturers, software developers, original equipment manufacturers, value-added resellers, and financial institutions in patent litigation in the district courts and arbitrati...
Serving as Office Managing Partner of Akerman’s Houston office, Scott Marrs is a formidable trial lawyer litigating high profile matters in state and federal courts as well as arbitrations in the United States, South America, the Middle East, and Europe. Scott focuses on legal issues in virtually all aspects of the energy sector, including oil and gas exploration, production, transportation, storage, power, chemical, petrochemical, energy marketing, and well service. He also litigates i...
Dwayne L. Mason serves as the head of the Texas Intellectual Property Litigation Practice. Dwayne’s practice focuses on patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret, and technology-based commercial litigation. Dwayne also manages patent and trademark portfolios and assists companies in protecting and commercializing their intellectual property, including many transactional matters in the technology, media, life sciences, energy, and natural resources industries. Dwayne has litigated numer...
Michael McBride is an intellectual property and patent trial lawyer who focuses primarily on high-stakes, complex patent litigation and patent prosecution matters in which his deep technical skills as an electrical engineer are a powerful asset to his clients. His vast experience in patent disputes over the last 13 years includes cases in venues across the country involving semiconductor manufacturing and transistor design, flash memory controllers, fiber optic networks, digital video compres...
Jason S. McManis is a partner at AZA and the head of AZA’s intellectual property group. He is a skilled trial lawyer with extensive experience in front of the jury in courtrooms across the United States. IAM Patent 1000 ranks Mr. McManis as a leading patent litigator and highlights that he “is often brought in to take over cases from previous counsel” while commending his ability to “adapt to changing circumstances with alacrity.” Mr. McManis represents both plai...
Co-founder of Houston-based Heim, Payne & Chorush, Les has helped build a nationally respected team of lawyers and has led litigation resulting in numerous 8- and 9- figure verdicts and settlements. As patent law has evolved with inter partes review validity challenges at the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board, Les has become particularly effective representing both patent owners and accused infringers in this rapidly changing landscape. Heim, Payne & Chorush staffs its litigation for...
John B. Thomas is the co-founder of Houston-based commercial litigation boutique Hicks Thomas LLP. Known for his deep experience in handling complex commercial litigation, Mr. Thomas and the firm’s lawyers represent both defendants and plaintiffs in lawsuits involving oil and gas, securities, environmental matters, banking, transportation, intellectual property and health care. Mr. Thomas has been named to Lawdragon’s 500 Leading Lawyers in America and Lawdragon’s 500 Leadin...
David E. Warden is an internationally recognized expert in business litigation and arbitration, including patents and other intellectual property. He is a lawyer, arbitrator, engineer, adjunct professor, published author, and businessman. Mr. Warden has tried many healthcare, energy, securities, and intellectual property business lawsuits for individual clients and entities, as well as mass actions and class actions, and is licensed as a patent attorney before the U.S. Patent & Trademark ...
Joshua Wyde is a patent attorney who focuses on Patent and Trademark Appeal Board post-grant proceedings (PGRs and IPRs), federal patent, trademark, and copyright litigation, patent portfolio analysis, formal infringement/invalidity legal opinions, and IP licensing. An electrical engineer and entrepreneur, Mr. Wyde relies on his software and hardware experience to represent plaintiffs and defendants. He handles cases from pre-complaint investigation to a jury verdict. Mr. Wyde spent years han...
Weining Bai is a trial lawyer focused on intellectual property and commercial litigation. He has significant experience in patent litigation representing both plaintiffs and defendants across a variety of forums and technologies and also has litigated trade secrets cases. He has participated in numerous trials, presenting opening statements, examining witnesses, arguing motions, and handling witness preparation. In pre-trial, he has taken and defended depositions of both fact and expert witne...
Chris First is an experienced litigator with a practice that focuses on patent infringement disputes in federal trial and appellate venues, post-grant inter partes review challenges at the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board, and patent-related antitrust litigation. With deep legal, high-tech and engineering expertise, Mr. First is able to work in multiple fields of technology. He is often consulted for his ability to combine outside-the-box thinking with a unique breadth of knowledge of techn...
Michael Killingsworth is a trial lawyer that focuses on complex commercial and intellectual property litigation. In the last four years alone, he has secured four verdicts exceeding $10 million each. In another recent trial, he successfully defended against a $200 million oil rig multi-fatality wrongful death matter. He is not just adept at trial, but also in all facets of litigation. He has successfully argued scores of dispositive motions, obtained injunctive relief for clients (including s...
Blaine Larson focuses his practice on patent infringement litigation related to electrical and computer engineering technologies. Experienced in all phases of litigation, from pre-suit investigation to appeals, Mr. Larson has briefed and argued a variety of issues including several Markman hearings, taken and defended depositions, and participated in winning trials. Mr. Larson joined Heim, Payne & Chorush following an 18-month clerkship with Judge Kimberly Moore of the U.S. Court of Appea...
Louis Liao is a trial lawyer who focuses on commercial litigation and intellectual property litigation. He represents plaintiffs and defendants in a wide range of high-stakes disputes, including breach of contract, trade secret, and patent lawsuits. Clients often rely on his perspective as a former engineer to provide creative solutions and break down complex concepts for judges and juries. Mr. Liao was recognized in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch (2022–2025) and Thomson Reuters’ Sup...
Renee T. Wilkerson is a litigator in McDowell Hetherington's Houston office, with a focus on complex commercial litigation. Prior to joining McDowell Hetherington, Renee spent her legal career as a litigation attorney in the Houston office of a top-tier international law firm. She focused her litigation practice on technical-based matters, including representation of clients in commercial, environmental, mass tort, patent, product liability, and trade secret disputes. She has represented clie...
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