Peter J. Ayers

Principal

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Peter Ayers focuses his trial practice on complex technical cases given his extensive educational and professional background in electrical engineering.  He has considerable experience in patent infringement and trade secret litigation.

Mr. Ayers served as a Judicial Clerk to the Honorable S. Jay Plager at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C.  Prior to law school, he worked as a development engineer for Hewlett Packard and I.B.M.

Mr. Ayers speaking engagements include "Economics of IP Litigation" on June 22, 2007 at the 2007 State Bar of Texas Annual Meeting, San Antonio, TX, "Breaking Down The Tape:  How E-Discovery Impacts the Business of Litigation" July 13, 2007 at the 3rd Annual Advanced Patent Litigation Course, Lake Tahoe, NV, and "The Role of Litigation in Your IP Strategy" (Moderator) July 31, 2007 at Managing Intellectual Property for Maximum Returns, Millbrae, CA.

Representative Matters

American Airlines, Northwest Airlines, Korean Airlines.  Represented a number of domestic and international airlines in a patent infringement case in the Eastern District of Texas. The plaintiff stipulated to non-infringement following a favorable claim construction ruling. Mr. Ayers is now handling the appeal before the Federal Circuit.

Trilogy Software.  Mr. Ayers has represented Trilogy in a number of intellectual property cases involving complex pricing and configuration software. Recently, he helped Trilogy obtain a multi-million dollar settlement in a patent infringement case in the Eastern District of Texas.

EDS.  Mr. Ayers represents EDS in a patent infringement case in the Eastern District of Texas involving image-based check processing.

Nortel Networks.  He represented Nortel in a patent infringement case concerning telecommunications technology.

OPTi, Inc.  He currently represents OPTi in a patent infringement case pending in the Eastern District of Texas involving computer chipsets.

TSMC.  He represented TSMC in a multi-patent suit in the District of Arizona brought by the Lemelson Foundation.

National Instruments.  Helped National Instruments obtain a multi-million dollar jury verdict in a patent infringement action against the Mathworks company in the Eastern District of Texas.

Parental Guide of Texas.  Mr. Ayers represented Parental Guide of Texas in a patent infringement action against essentially all of the television manufacturers in the world. The case settled on favorable terms on the eve of trial.

Professional Activities

President, Austin Intellectual Property Association Member, AIPLA

Articles

• The Patent Reform Legislation Debate: Damages and Interlocutory Appeal Provisions
  Presented at the AIPLA Spring Meeting, May 2008