Nika Aldrich is the leader of Schwabe’s IP Litigation Group, and is a first-chair litigator who handles complex, high-stakes, and technical litigations in the federal court system. He has represented companies nationwide in numerous disputes including a number of patent and other intellectual property cases, cases of constitutional significance, bankruptcy matters, and other matters where there is a critical need for an attorney who can break down and explain complex principles, technologies, and legal concepts.

In addition to trial court litigation, Nika has substantial federal appellate experience, including before the Second Circuit, the Third Circuit, the Ninth Circuit, the Federal Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court.

Nika is a professor of law at Lewis & Clark Law School, has published several law review articles and countless articles in journals and other publications, and is co-editor of Fresh from the Bench, a weekly circulation summarizing newly issued, precedential decisions. He has also been cited in Forbes and other publications for his insights into developments in the law. Nika’s pre-law technical expertise focuses on digital signal processing, a field in which he published multiple papers and authored a college textbook. He previously worked at the United Nations.

Bar Admissions

• United States Supreme Court
• United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
• United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
• United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
• United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York
• United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
• United States District Court for the Western District of New York
• United States District Court for the District of Oregon
• United States District Court for the Western District of Washington
• Oregon State Courts
• New York State Courts
• Washington State Courts

Education

• University of Washington, Juris Doctor degree (2007)
• Purdue University, Bachelor's degree (2004)

• First-chair trial attorney in a two week patent trial involving utility and design patents, including a jury verdict awarding total profits in the first design patent trial after the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Samsung v. Apple.
• Lead attorney in the precedential case, Columbia Sportswear North America, Inc. v. Seirus Innovative Accessories, Inc., Appeal No. 2018-1329, et al (Fed. Cir. Nov. 13, 2019), concerning the standards for design patent infringement, design patent damages, various utility patent issues, and venue in patent disputes.
• Lead attorney in the precedential case, Outdry Techs. Corp. v. Geox S.P.A., 859 F.3d 1364 (2017), concerning an inter partes review decision regarding patents for waterproofing textiles.
• Lead attorney on the first Federal Circuit appeal of a design patent case following the Supreme Court’s opinion in Samsung v. Apple.
• Successfully argued an appeal before the Federal Circuit in a patent case relating to electrochemistry, defending the district court’s Markman and summary judgment decisions.  Dexcom, Inc. v. AgaMatrix, Inc., Appeal No. 2018-1686 (Fed. Cir. March 7, 2019).
• Represented a creditor in the Lehman Brothers’ bankruptcy in a case involving complex legal issues relating to the characterization of swaps under bankruptcy laws.
• Represented a guarantor of $180 million of leases in a very large New York bankruptcy, successfully arguing that the debtor’s treatment of the leases violated the due process clause of the United States Constitution. 
• Successfully represented a steel products manufacturer through multiple trials in Delaware bankruptcy court in a chapter 11 case that concerned the sales of assets and complex issues concerning credit bidding in a bankruptcy auction.
• Represented a Malaysian company in a large bankruptcy in the Delaware bankruptcy court in a years-long dispute concerning treatment of a manufacturing contract under the bankruptcy laws.
• Lead attorney on plaintiff’s Federal Circuit appeal of an award of approximately $1.4 million in attorneys’ fees awarded to our client pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 285.
• Lead attorney for Ventex Corp. v. Columbia Sportswear North America, Inc., Case IPR2017-00651, Paper 152 (Jan. 24, 2019), which was subsequently designated as precedential by the Patent Office. Nika secured favorable inter partes review decisions terminating the proceedings after obtaining substantial party and third-party discovery showing that a third party and the petitioner had entered into a complex financial relationship that appeared to mask a large transfer of cash for the third party to pay for the IPRs. The PTAB found that the third party was both in privity with the petitioner and a real party-in-interest in the proceedings, finding that the petitioner filed the petitions as a “proxy” for, “on behalf of,” and for “the benefit of” the third party.
• Successfully argued multiple Markman hearings, including in the fields of apparel, medical devices, and construction.
• Represented a securities exchange in copyright and misappropriation lawsuit regarding the right to list options on financial indexes.
• Obtained favorable settlements for a large pharmaceutical company in trademark, trade dress, and anti-counterfeiting cases.
• Provided pro bono legal services to a death row inmate, tenants in housing disputes, parties in divorces and students in lawsuits against schools.
• Serves as outside general counsel to the Audio Engineering Society.

• COVID-19 and Force Majeure Clauses

  By Nika Aldrich |March 2020

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Seminar

• “Patent Law in Review”
• "Winning Your Trial with Tech"
• "Patent Case Law Year-In-Review, Recent Decisions from the Federal Circuit and Supreme Court"