William G. Todd

Principal

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Bill Todd is a Principal in McKool Smith's New York office.  Mr. Todd has practiced patent law in New York for more than thirty years.  He has acted as lead counsel for many Large Cap companies, including Alcoa, Avon Products, Braun, Cargill, Enzo Biochem, Glaxo, Kraft Foods, PepsiCo, Pfizer, TotalFinaElf, Unilever and Universal Avionics.  Taken together, these engagements have provided vast experience with aviation, avionics, biotechnology, cosmetics, diagnostics imaging, food and beverages, medical devices, metallurgy, organic chemistry, packaging, pharmaceuticals and consumer products.

Bill received a B.E. in Chemical Engineering from Manhattan College in 1973; and a J.D. from Union University, Albany Law School in 1976. Academic achievements include Epsilon Sigma Pi, Tau Beta Pi and the Editorial Board of the Albany Law Review.  For the last twenty years, Bill has received the highest professional ratings from the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory; and in 2004 he was appointed as an expert on US patent law before The High Court of Justice (Chancery Division), London, England.  In 2006, he was selected as a peer-reviewed “New York Super Lawyer.”

Representative Matters

Prior to joining McKool Smith:

On behalf of Glaxo, discovered and recreated the history of the world's best selling pharmaceutical compound (Zantac®). Following a 3-week bench trial in the Eastern District of North Carolina, successfully enforced the single most valuable patent franchise of the 1990s.

Represented Enzo Biochem in several patent litigations involving nine patents relating to detectable probes used to identify specific nucleic acid sequences.

During a ten day jury trial in the District of New Jersey, successfully asserted capillary electrophoresis technology against a multi-national instrument supplier.

Represented the interests of a major pharmaceutical company in the Southern District of New York. Before a nine member jury, asserted the patent for a well known consumer product against the world's largest supplier of private label goods.

As newly-appointed counsel, arranged for the prompt dismissal of a declaratory judgment complaint, filed in the District of Minnesota.  The issues concerned validity and enforceability of a patent directed to anesthesia delivery devices.

In a five day jury trial for Braun Medical in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, successfully defeated a multi-million dollar claim for infringement of two patents relating to pencil point spinal needles.

Created and enforced an elaborate patent portfolio which covered personal care products for a New Jersey based manufacturing company.

Successfully resolved a patent infringement lawsuit involving cosmetic products intended for the ethnic market. 

Asserted multiple patents involving folding paperboard cartons in a series of federal court trials and/or litigations extending from New York to California.

As co-counsel in the District of Delaware, successfully asserted Alcoa Patent No. 5,213,639 against EADS (Airbus). The '639 patent discloses and claims the aluminum alloy used to construct the Boeing 777.

As co-counsel in the Northern District of Illinois, successfully asserted Alcoa Patent Nos. 4,828,631 and 4,954,188 which disclose and claim the wing configuration for the MD-11 aircraft.

Successfully defended against five Honeywell patents relating to aviation safety technology in the District of Delaware. This case was important to the aerospace industry because Honeywell previously occupied 99% of the relevant market.

Professional Activities

New York Intellectual Property Law Association and American Intellectual Property Law Association

Awards & Recognition

Named "New York Super Lawyer 2006" based on a survey of more than 59,000 Manhattan lawyers and the independent research of Law & Politics.

News

• Veteran Patent Litigation Attorney William Todd Joins McKool Smith's New York Expansion

Articles

• Co-Chair, Litigating the Patent Case
  A Forum for Corporate Counsel: Winning from the Beginning
• Co-Chair, Litigating the Patent Case
  The Second Annual Forum for Corporate Counsel: Winning from the Beginning
• Round Table Participant, Managing the Identification, Valuation, Protection and Disposition of Intellectual Property