Bill Devitt is a first-chair trial lawyer who focuses on technology-related litigation, primarily patent and trade secret matters. Litigating cases for more than 25 years, Bill has successfully led teams in district courts throughout the country as well as at the International Trade Commission (ITC). He has handled cases covering a variety of technical matters, including wireless communications, semiconductors, data storage, power equipment, gaming machines, pharmaceuticals, and medical devices.
Bill also has significant experience representing and advising clients in connection with patent assertions, license negotiations, including standard essential patents and FRAND (fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory) issues, trade secret misappropriate claims, and other strategic transactions involving technology and intellectual property rights. At the start of his career Bill worked for seven years as a telecommunications engineer for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), where he gained extensive experience in a broad range of communication systems, including satellite and radio systems, fiber optics, microwave, network and switching systems, and encryption technology.
Bill is a member of the Richard Linn Inn of Court, the American Intellectual Property Law Association, and the Intellectual Property Owners Association. He has served as a guest lecturer on patent litigation topics at the University of Notre Dame Law School and has participated in numerous technology law seminars, both in the United States and abroad.
Expérience
The following represents experience acquired prior to joining Jones Day.
Represented Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) in a patent infringement lawsuit at the ITC relating to semiconductor design and manufacturing patents.
Represented Aker BioMarine in a patent infringement lawsuit at the ITC relating to the composition of krill oil extracts as a source of omega-3 phospholipids.
Represented Advance Auto Parts and Hanesbrands in patent infringement lawsuits in the Eastern District of Texas relating to store locator technology.
Represented Seiko Epson in a patent infringement lawsuit at the ITC relating to flash memory card adapter technology.
Represented IBM in a patent infringement case in the Northern District of Illinois relating to database management system technology.
Represented NEC Corp. in a patent infringement case in the Eastern District of Texas relating to content-addressable storage systems.
Represented Fritsch GmbH in a patent infringement case in the District of Minnesota relating to dough cutting technology.
Represented Infineon in a patent infringement case in the District of Delaware relating to microcontrollers and integrated circuit technologies.
Represented Elpida, Infineon, and IBM in a patent license/bankruptcy dispute in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia and the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Represented Trustwave in a patent infringement case in Eastern District of Texas relating to word check software system.
Represented Seiko Epson Corp. and its subsidiary in a patent infringement case in the Northern District of California involving wireless functionality and the 802.11 standard.
Represented IBM in a patent infringement lawsuit at the ITC relating to automated tape storage libraries.
Represented B. Braun in a patent infringement case in the District of Delaware relating to safety IV catheters.
Represented Research In Motion (RIM) in a patent infringement case in the Northern District of Illinois relating to 3G wireless technology.
Represented Hitachi and its subsidiaries in patent infringement case in the Northern District of California relating computer architecture and internal communication.
Represented Research In Motion (RIM) in a patent infringement case in the Eastern District of Texas relating to mobile "push" email systems.
Represented ITW and Miller in a patent infringement case in the Northern District of Ohio relating to welding power supplies.
Represented Rohm in a patent infringement case in the Eastern District of Texas relating to inverter controller circuits as used in LCD panels.
Represented Illinois Tool Works and its subsidiary Miller Electric in a patent infringement case in the Eastern District of Wisconsin relating to power suppliers for welding and plasma cutting equipment.
Represented Agere Systems in patent infringement cases in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania: relating to semiconductor process and semiconductor packaging technology and another involving analog integrated circuit patents and wireless LAN technology.
Represented International Game Technology (IGT) and Action Gaming in a patent infringement case in the District of Nevada relating to video poker game play patents.
Represented Computer Motion in a patent infringement case in the Central District of California relating to surgical robotics.
Represented International Game Technology in a patent infringement, trademark/trade dress infringement, and trade secret misappropriation case in the District of Nevada.
Represented Lucent Technologies in a patent infringement case in the District of Delaware involving Wide Area Network (WAN) technology, in particular congestion control issues related to Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM).
Represented Motorola in a patent infringement case in the District of Nebraska relating to battery saving techniques used in pagers.
Represented Hughes Electronics in a patent infringement case in the Central District of California relating to satellite telecommunications technology.
Represented Motorola in a patent infringement case in the District of Delaware relating to TDMA digital cellular telephony.
Autres publications
- Augugst 2019
Financier Worldwide. Resolving Patent Disputes Roundtable
- Decembe 6, 2017
Shenzhen Patent Association U.S. Patent Law Seminar: Patent Exhaustion - Impression Products v. Lexmark; Inter Partes Review - SAS and Oil States; Patent Venue - TC Heartland - December 4, 2017
Hangzhou High-tech Zone (Riverside) Intellectual Property Training Base, Internet of Things Industry Intellectual Property Alliance, and the National Intellectual Property Training (Zhejiang) Base - U.S. Patent Law Seminar: Patent Exhaustion - Impression Products v. Lexmark; Inter Partes Review - SAS and Oil States; Patent Venue - TC Heartland - April 22, 2016
International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property of Japan (AIPPI - Japan) - Lexmark and the Future of Patent Exhaustion - September 8, 2015
Japanese Patent Attorney Association (JPAA) Seminar Topic: The Current Anti-Patent Climate in the United States - June 11, 2015
Jones Day University Topic: Hot Topics in Patent Law: Reverse Patent Trolls
- The Catholic University of America (J.D. magna cum laude 1995); University of Notre Dame (B.S.E.E. 1986)
- Illinois and District of Columbia
- Communication Systems Engineer, Central Intelligence Agency (1986-1993)
Illinois Super Lawyers (2012-2020)
The Best Lawyers in America — patent litigation (2021)
Intellectual Asset Management's IAM 1000 — The World's Leading Patent Professionals (2015-2019)
The Legal 500 US (2014)
LeadingLawyers.com — intellectual property law (2019-2020)