Practice Expertise

  • Copyright
  • Intellectual Property
  • Intellectual Property Litigation
  • Litigation

Areas of Practice

  • Copyright
  • Intellectual Property
  • Intellectual Property Litigation
  • Litigation
  • Mechanical
  • Patent Litigation
  • Patent Office Trials
  • Patents
  • View More

Profile

Russ Emerson is a trial lawyer who serves as lead counsel in high-stakes, high-risk patent litigation throughout the country. His cases involve a variety of technologies, from semiconductors to lasers, medical devices to pharmaceutical products, and petroleum drilling technology to computer networking.

Clients also turn to Russ to handle cases involving trademarks and trade dress, copyrights, theft of trade secrets, and other complex technical and related business disputes. In addition to his trial court practice, Russ has successfully argued a number of appeals before the Federal Circuit. He is also active at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, having participated in dozens of inter partes review proceedings.

A former naval officer, Russ leads litigation and trial teams sized to effectively and efficiently accomplish his clients’ goals. As a registered patent lawyer with a degree in mechanical engineering and experience in nuclear engineering, Russ combines technical fluency with the ability to explain complex technology to judges and juries alike.

Before attending law school, Russ served as a division officer on board a nuclear-powered, fast-attack submarine and was certified as a Naval Nuclear Engineer by the Department of Energy’s Naval Reactors Division.

Bar Admissions
Texas; U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Education
J.D., The University of Texas, 1997, with honors; Moot Court, mock trial; Texas Intellectual Property Law Journal
B.S., University of Florida, 1988, with high honors

Areas of Practice

  • Copyright
  • Intellectual Property
  • Intellectual Property Litigation
  • Litigation
  • Mechanical
  • Patent Litigation
  • Patent Office Trials
  • Patents

Professional Career

Significant Accomplishments
Won defense verdict for Korean manufacturer and its founder (E.D. Tex.). After deliberating less than two hours, the jury returned a verdict of no-infringement, no tortious interference, and no conspiracy. The plaintiffs sought over $100 million in actual and punitive damages but were awarded only $622 thousand on a single contract claim. The jury also awarded the founder $1.36 million—every penny sought—on his breach-of-contract claim.

Won jury verdict—including invalidity of an asserted patent—as lead trial counsel for maker of WAN-optimization products (E.D. Tex.). Simultaneously led IPR team that invalidated several patents-in-suit, which decisions were affirmed at the Federal Circuit. Ultimately settled world-wide litigation campaign—including cases in the federal and patent courts of Germany and in the Northern District of California—on favorable terms.

Won summary judgment of noninfringement for oil-and-gas operating company in case relating to horizontal drilling techniques (E.D. Tex.).

Won summary judgment of noninfringement for the nation's leading provider of parking ticket management systems in case involving electronic handheld ticket-issuing devices (E.D. Tex.). Successfully appealed denial of attorneys' fees to the Federal Circuit.

Defended start-up against claims of patent infringement, trade-secret misappropriation, and trademark infringement in case relating to laser technology (N.D. Texas).

Won summary judgment of noninfringement for a leading provider of electronic-tolling technologies (N.D. Tex.). Successfully defended judgment on appeal to the Federal Circuit.

Defended oil-and-gas operating company in patent-infringement case relating to multi-pad horizontal drilling. Case settled for no payment (E.D. Tex.).
Won jury verdict as lead trial counsel for patent owner in validity-only trial involving CMOS image sensors (D. Del.).

Successfully represented defendants - national marketing services and event demonstrations providers - in a patent-infringement lawsuit involving method patents directed at clients' key services. Litigation settled on favorable terms (C.D. Cal.).

Obtained a jury verdict and judgment, including enhanced damages, attorneys' fees, and a broad injunction, for the willful infringement of a patented method for surgically repairing the left ventricle of the human heart after a severe heart attack (N.D. Tex.).

Obtained a final, non-appealable, take-nothing judgment against Data Treasury after a multi-week jury trial in Marshall, Texas in a lawsuit involving electronic check-image processing (E.D. Tex.).

Won summary judgment of non-infringement for Prodigy and SBC Internet Services in case involving dial-up internet-access technology (E.D. Tex.).

Won summary judgment of invalidity in case relating to air-conditioning technology (E.D. Texas). Successfully defended judgment on appeal to Federal Circuit.

Won judgment on the pleadings of non-infringement for Southwestern Bell Communications Services, Inc. in case relating to devices for installing fiber-optic cable. Case settled favorably for remaining SBC defendants (D. Del.).

Won summary judgment of no infringement in copyright-infringement case involving photographs.



Blogs

Meet our Firms and Professionals

WSG’s member firms include legal, investment banking and accounting experts across industries and on a global scale. We invite you to meet our member firms and professionals.