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Wells_Richard

Richard V. Wells

Partner
Baker & McKenzie LLP

Biography

Richard V. Wells is a partner in Baker McKenzie's Intellectual Property Practice Group. Mr. Wells has over 20 years of experience practicing intellectual property law with a focus in the patent area, including due diligence, prosecution, counseling and litigation. Prior to rejoining the Firm, Mr. Wells served as intellectual property counsel for WesternGeco, a subsidiary of Schlumberger, in Oslo, Norway. In that role, Mr. Wells managed a global patent portfolio of several hundred patents and routinely advised on competitive decision making with an intellectual property angle.

Practice Focus

Mr. Wells has extensive patent litigation experience, both in asserting and defending against patent infringement claims, in federal district court and before the International Trade Commission. He also routinely appears before the Patent Trials and Appeals Board to assert or defend against inter partes review of patents. Mr. Wells' practice is also focused on patent due diligence, prosecution and counseling matters, particularly in the medical device, oilfield, heavy industry and software areas. In that regard, Mr. Wells regularly handles patent due diligence and valuation assessments of potential acquisition targets and investment opportunities. He further provides clearance evaluations on new products entering markets worldwide, including preparation of patent-related opinions. He also has vast experience handling the drafting and negotiation of technology related agreements, including joint development and licensing agreements.

Representative Legal Matters

  • Representing a streaming media company in defending against patent infringement claims in the District of New Jersey.

  • Representing a streaming media company in defending against patent infringement claims in the Western District of Washington.

  • Successfully asserted multiple patents for an oilfield services company in the Southern District of Texas - after a two week trial, obtained judgment of willful infringement of five patents and a permanent injunction.

  • Successfully asserted inter partes review challenge resulting in a favorable settlement for a handset manufacturer.

  • Successfully defended patent infringement claims brought against an electronics retailer at the International Trade Commission.

  • Represented numerous entities in patent litigation actions in the Eastern and Western Districts of Texas.

  • Manage global patent portfolios for numerous clients.

  • Manage several patent due diligence matters for corporate transactions.

Professional Honors

  • Recognized by Chambers USA as Band 2 for Washington, D.C. Patent Prosecution (2021 & 2022)

Professional Associations and Memberships

  • Federal Circuit Bar Association - Member
  • State Bar of Texas - Member
  • United States Patent and Trademark Office - Member

Admissions

  • District of Columbia~United States (2014)
  • U.S. Patent & Trademark Office~United States (2002)
  • Texas~United States (2001)

Education

  • University of Houston Law Center (J.D., cum laude) (2001)
  • University of Texas at Austin (B.S. Mechanical Engineering) (1998)

Languages

  • English

Publications

Co-author, "Shift In China's Trade Secret Law Levels The Playing Field," Law 360, 15 July 2022

Author, "Avoiding the Pitfalls in Inter Partes Review in the United States," GRUR Int at 818, September 2015

Author, "Software Patents in the EU: A US Practitioner’s Perspective," e-commerce law & policy, vol. 6, issue 10, October 2004

Baker & McKenzie LLP is a Limited Liability Partnership organized under the laws of the State of Illinois (USA) and is a member of Baker & McKenzie International, a Verein organized under the laws of Switzerland.