Sterne Kessler’s mechanical patent litigation team works with clients across a broad range of industries to enforce and defend their intellectual property rights. With our extensive backgrounds in technology and mechanical engineering, we know what it takes to win these cases across any venue—with the trial skills, technical depth, and patent knowledge that delivers results.
In the last five years, Sterne Kessler has served as litigation counsel for both patent owners and accused infringers in more than 150 patent cases across 27 jurisdictions in federal district court. We are also one of the top five busiest firms at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and we are among the top 10% of most active firms at the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) in that same time frame. Our attorneys have successfully handled mechanical and electro-mechanical patent litigation for clients that include BTL Industries, Volkswagen Group of America, Weber, Wirtgen, and Lifetime Products, amongst others.
The Sterne Kessler Advantage
Proven Trial Teams
We are trial lawyers with deep technical backgrounds, and we understand the functionality, design, and construction of our clients’ mechanical and electro-mechanical innovations. Our trial lawyers have won across every venue and are best known for working with clients to build litigation strategies that focus on and achieve their business goals. Supporting our trial team are attorneys and other professionals with more than 40 advanced degrees and Ph.D.s in mechanical and electrical engineering, physics, materials science, and mathematics, so we can quickly grasp complex technologies at issue in a case. We use this technical know-how to develop effective arguments and explain challenging technology to judges and juries in a compelling way.
Our mechanical patent litigation work covers a broad range of industries, from medical devices and consumer products, to manufacturing, vehicles and heavy equipment, industrial food and beverage processing equipment, lighting systems and fans, and food & consumer packaged goods. We have also litigated cases involving such complex technologies as robotics and optics.
Tailored Legal Strategies
Our technical depth augments our team’s legal skill. We aim to identify the key pressure points in mechanical patent cases at the outset, while focusing on our clients’ ultimate business objectives. We take into account IP protection beyond utility and design patents, including trade dress, trade secrets, and copyrights, and craft a comprehensive IP litigation strategy to protect and defend our clients’ products and market share. Our goal is to maximize our clients’ chances for a favorable outcome, while minimizing their risk.
Leaders Across Venues
We are particularly skilled at coordinating actions across multiple venues when a multi-venue strategy can be favorable for our clients. This includes collaborating with our PTAB Trials Group on inter partes review and post-grant proceedings before the USPTO’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). Over the past several years, we have represented clients such as Volkswagen Group of America, Wirtgen, BTL, and TaylorMade in patent litigation in district court, the ITC, and at the PTAB, pivoting between venues to efficiently and favorably resolve litigation.
Working with Sterne Kessler
- Your goals always come first. We know that our clients’ strategic goals vary from case to case, and we tailor our approach to achieve those goals as efficiently as possible. From the outset, we align our strategy with your business objectives. Whether you are seeking early resolution or planning to take a case through trial and appeal, our team has the proven experience to guide you through any type of IP dispute.
- We help you expect the unexpected. Before the start of any matter, we work with you to define phases, assess risk, and identify important milestones. We can anticipate potential obstacles over the life of a case and develop a strategic plan to overcome them. We provide early and ongoing analysis of relevant patents, prior art, and products, and we formulate strong positions on obviousness, invalidity, infringement, damages, and claim construction at the outset of litigation.
- Communication is our highest priority. Litigation can be unpredictable, and we develop a communication plan with our clients to keep them well-informed through the life of a case. We regularly report on matters in an efficient and cost-effective way. We are also committed to developing budgets that align with your needs and expectations.
Representative Experience
- BTL v. Allergan, et al., 337-TA-1219 Certain Non-Invasive Aesthetic Body Contouring Devices, Components Thereof, and Methods of Using the Same – BTL asserted four patents against Allergan, alleging that Allergan was importing infringing devices that used high-intensity, focused electromagnetic energy for muscle toning. Concurrently with the ITC litigation, Sterne Kessler successfully defended the validity of the patents in parallel post-grant reviews (PGRs), and the litigation subsequently settled.
- Wirtgen v. Caterpillar
- 337-TA-1067 Road Milling/Construction Machines and Components Thereof & 1:17-cv-00770 (D. Del.) – Wirtgen asserted four patents against Caterpillar, alleging that Caterpillar was importing infringing road milling machinery produced by an Italian subsidiary. We secured a violation finding, with copying findings, and defended the validity of the patents in parallel inter partes reviews (IPR). After the ITC investigation, we represented Wirtgen in district court and secured an 8-figure jury verdict against Caterpillar for willful infringement of five Wirtgen patents.
- 337-TA-1088 Road Construction Machines and Components Thereof – Defended Wirtgen in a countersuit ITC case filed by Caterpillar—clearing Wirtgen of infringement claims for all asserted patents. Sterne Kessler won on two of the patents (with invalidity findings), while all claims in the third patent were invalidated with the exception of one dependent claim, which Wirtgen successfully designed around, and imported with Customs’ approval, leveraging proceedings in the Court of International Trade and District Court. In parallel, all claims of the final remaining patent were invalidated on two separate grounds in an IPR proceeding.
- Lifetime Products v. Russell, et al., 337-TA-1040 Certain Basketball Backboard Components – In a dispute between the two leading backboard manufacturers, Lifetime Products had been pursuing a patent infringement case in the District Courts for nearly four years. The case had been stayed in light of a pending reexamination. Lifetime came to Sterne Kessler to initiate an ITC investigation of infringing imports. The parties reached a highly favorable settlement, based in part upon Russell’s discovery abuses, less than four months after the ITC investigation was instituted.
- Parsons Xtreme Golf, LLC v. Taylor Made Golf Company (D. Ariz.) – PXG asserted eight patents and sought a temporary restraining order to prevent Taylor Made from launching a new product. Defeated the plaintiff’s request for a temporary restraining order. This case and a countersuit settled favorably after the PTAB instituted IPRs challenging the validity of all asserted patents.
Awards & Rankings
- “Tier 1” firm for “Patent Litigation” (D.C.) – U.S. News and Best Lawyers Best Law Firms, 2023
- “Silver Band” in Washington D.C. patent litigation – IAM Patent 1000, 2024
- 18 Sterne Kessler Directors ranked in Intellectual Asset Management’s IAM Patent 1000, 2024
- 13 Sterne Kessler Directors “IP Stars” – Managing Intellectual Property, 2024