Trenton A. Ward

Partner

Atlanta
Business Phone: 404.885.3695
Business Fax: 404.962.6818

trenton.ward@troutmansanders.com

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As a member of the firm’s Intellectual Property practice, Trenton litigates and prosecutes patents, trademarks, and copyrights on behalf of some of the firm’s largest clients in various jurisdictions across the country and before the United States Patent and Trademark Office.  Trenton also manages patent portfolios and counsels clients on strategies to develop critical intellectual property from their research and development efforts and obtain patent protection and exclusivity in existing and new markets.  Additionally, Trenton regularly counsels clients on licensing agreements and licensing efforts, especially in the areas of telecommunications, semiconductors, and software, to maximize the potential of their intellectual property and minimize their exposure to intellectual property assertions by others.

Trenton's patent litigation experience includes litigation in multiple District Courts on a wide range of technologies, including medical devices, telecommunications equipment, manufacturing equipment, and software. Trenton’s practice also includes commercial litigation involving mass tort actions, pharmaceutical litigation, contract disputes, and commercial banking.

Trenton prosecutes patent applications for numerous clients in a wide array of electrical and mechanical arts, including carbon nanotube devices, wireless telecommunication systems, heart valve plasma reactor systems, financial software, continuously variable vehicle transmissions, fossil fuel power plants, steel melt furnaces, sporting equipment, and oxygen delivery systems.

Trenton has counseled clients on a wide variety of intellectual property issues, including drafting and negotiating patent and trademark licenses. He has also counseled clients and assisted in defending against patent assertions through invalidity searching, ex parte and inter partes reexamination, and other defense techniques.

Representative Experience

Sample Litigation Matters Include:

Frontier Communications Corporation v. Google Inc., District of Delaware Case No. 1:10-cv-545-GMS:  patent infringement lawsuit involving cellular communications software.

Hudson Surgical Design Inc v. Biomet Inc., Northern District of Indiana Case No. 3:10-cv0465:  patent infringement lawsuit involving orthopedic surgical instrumentation.

Selex Communications, Inc. v. Google, Inc., Northern District of Georgia Case No. 1:09-cv-02927-TWT:  patent infringement lawsuit regarding telecommunication software.

Karl Storz GMBH & Co. KG v. Integrated Medical Systems International, Inc., Northern District of Alabama Case No. 2:10-cv-3547:  patent infringement lawsuit involving medical devices.

Atlanta Attachment Company v. Leggett & Platt, Inc., Federal Circuit Case No. 2007-1188:  litigation on behalf of plaintiff in patent infringement action regarding manufacturing equipment.

MLR, LLC v. Motorola, Inc. et al., Eastern District of Virginia Case No. 2:08-cv-00357-HCM-FBS:  litigation on behalf of defendant in patent infringement action regarding wireless telecommunication equipment.

Glenayre Electronics v. Jackson, Federal Circuit Case No. 2007-1188:  litigation on behalf of defendant in patent infringement action regarding communication software.

Minerva Industries, Inc. v. SouthernLINC Wireless et al., Eastern District of Texas Case No. 2:07-cv-00229-CE:  litigation on behalf of defendant in patent infringement action regarding cell phone devices.

Owen Mumford USA v. Surgilance, Inc., et al., Northern District of Georgia Case No. 1:01-cv-00588-JEC:  medical device patent litigation on behalf of defendant.

Sample Drafted Patents Include:

International Pub. No. WO/2007/100409:  Systems And Methods To Control The Dimension Of A Heart Valve

International Pub. No. WO/2009/103047:  Systems And Methods For Providing Environment Monitoring

International Pub. No. WO 2008/118529:  Polarization-Based Interference Mitigation

US Patent No. 7,696,774:  Defect-Tolerant Logic Devices

US Patent Publication No. 2008-0091389:  Electromagnetic Band Gap Structure Synthesis

US Patent Publication No. 2009-0323425:  Improved Floating-Gate Transistor Programming

US Patent Publication No. 2010-0003034:  Systems And Methods For Adaptive Polarization Transmission

Speaking Engagements and Publications 
“2011 America Invents Act: What You Need To Know,”  CLE Seminar, October 27, 2011

“Patent Reform Awaits President’s Signature,” Intellectual Property Advisory, Troutman Sanders, Sep. 9, 2011.

“Therasense: Federal Circuit Changes Materiality Standard in Attempt to Cure "Plague" of Inequitable Conduct Cases,” Intellectual Property Advisory, Troutman Sanders, May 31, 2011.

“Bilski Disappoints: Supreme Court Leaves Open the Question of Patent Eligibility,” Intellectual Property Advisory, Troutman Sanders, June 28, 2010.

“The Year in Patents”, 15th Annual Intellectual Property Law Institute, Cabo San Lucas Mexico, Nov. 11-14, 2009.

“New Venue Transfer Decisions Take Shine Off Lone Star State As Patent Forum,” Intellectual Property Advisory, Troutman Sanders, March 4, 2009.

“2008 Patent Law Update” Presentation, 14th Annual Intellectual Property Law Institute, Cabo San Lucas Mexico, Nov. 12-16, 2008.

“Is Victor’s Secret Still A Secret - Who Can Win On A Claim of Dilution?” Intellectual Property & the Law, Spring 2004.

Other Distinctions
Selected as a Rising Star in Intellectual Property Litigation by Law & Politics and Atlanta Magazine (2010, 2011, and 2012).

Work Experience
Partner, Troutman Sanders LLP, 2012-present
Associate, Troutman Sanders LLP, 2003-2011
Electrical Engineer, Nortel Networks, 1999-2000

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Education

  • Emory University, J.D., 2003
    Moot Court Order of Advocates (Awarded Best Brief) 
    Intellectual Property Special Team (Saul Lefkowitz Competition)
  • Georgia Institute of Technology, B.E.E., with honors, specializing in Telecommunications and Digital Signal Processing, 1999


Bar Admissions

  • Georgia
  • U.S. Patent and Trademark Office


Court Admissions

  • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia
  • Supreme Court of Georgia
  • Georgia Superior Courts


Memberships

  • Georgia Bar Association (Technology and Intellectual Property)
  • American Bar Association (IP Section)