Kevin Hardy focuses his practice on intellectual property disputes, including patent litigation, patent license and royalty disputes, as well as antitrust cases with an intellectual property component. In recent years, Kevin has played a leading role in multiple matters involving the licensing and enforcement of standard essential patents relating to wireless technology. He also has represented pharmaceutical companies in so-called “pay-for-delay” and related cases.
Kevin served as co-lead trial counsel in one of the largest commercial IP arbitrations that has been tried in recent years – a case involving royalties for a license to a large portfolio of standard essential patents covering cellular phones and tablets representing billions of dollars in revenue. The award in that case was hailed as a model of constructive resolution of a licensing dispute.
Kevin has served as lead counsel in a number of major intellectual property disputes before U.S. district courts and arbitral institutions. He also has represented clients in inter partes review and covered business method patent review proceedings before the Patent Office. Over the course of his career, Kevin has represented clients in patent infringement and licensing cases involving a wide range of technologies, including smartphones, tablets, software products, computer networks, semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, and medical devices.
Kevin was recently recognized by Managing Intellectual Property as an “IP Star,” and he has repeatedly been recognized in IAM 1000 – The World’s Leading Patent Practitioners, which has praised his “ability to identify, capture and clearly articulate the relevant legal issues in litigation and licensing negotiations” and “for his adroitness at the confluence of IP and antitrust law.”
- YouTube
- Samsung Electronics
- Verizon
- Avaya
- MediaTek
- Celgene
- Motorola
- Alcon
- Co-lead trial counsel in a multi-week international patent licensing arbitration relating to standard essential patents and products with billions of dollars in revenue.
- Trial counsel on behalf of a major technology company in a jury trial in the Eastern District of Texas involving patents declared essential to the 4G/LTE standard and the obligation to license such patents on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms.
- Trial counsel on behalf of a major telecommunications company in a jury trial in the Eastern District of Texas, in a patent case involving optical transport network technology and the obligation to license such patents on reasonable and non-discriminatory terms.
- Lead counsel for a major software company in a variety of patent matters, both in federal court and before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, defending claims related to user interface technology, audio and video codecs, digital image storage, transmission and content recognition, voice control of computers, photo tagging technology, online search, and more.
- Lead trial counsel in an international arbitration regarding alleged breach of a semiconductor patent license agreement.
- Co-lead trial counsel for a major technology company in a two-week trial before the U.S. International Trade Commission in a case involving the enforcement and licensing of standard essential patents related to 3G and 4G cellular technology.
- Lead counsel for a leading technology company in antitrust suits challenging the defendants’ conduct in connection with two patent pools related to digital television technology.
- Counsel for a global pharmaceutical company in multiple antitrust cases involving allegations that the company delayed development of generic versions of two drugs, including by pursuing allegedly “sham” patent litigation.
- Advised a leading pharmaceutical company regarding contract disputes regarding intellectual property rights in connection with joint ventures.
- Columbia Law School
(J.D., 1999)- Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar (1996-99)
- James A. Elkins Prize
- Columbia Law Review:
- Special Issue Chair and Senior Editor
- Special Issue Chair and Senior Editor
- Cornell University
(B.A., Government, with distinction, 1996)
- The District of Columbia Bar
- The State Bar of Maryland
- United States District Court:
- District of Columbia
- District of Maryland
- Eastern District of Texas
- Western District of Texas
- United States Court of Appeals:
- D.C. Circuit
- Fourth Circuit
- Sixth Circuit
- Eleventh Circuit
- Federal Circuit
- The United States Supreme Court
- Williams & Connolly LLP
- Co-Chair of the Patent Litigation Practice, 1999-2020
- Partner, 2008-2020
- Associate, 2000-2007
- Law Clerk for the Honorable Walter K. Stapleton:
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, 1999-2000
- IAM Patent 1000 Silver - Individuals: litigation, 2024
- Managing IP, IP STARS 2023 - Patent Star (2023-2024)
- IAM Patent 1000 – The World’s Leading Patent Practitioners (2014-2022)
- Managing Intellectual Property – IP Star (2020)
- Moderator, Federal Circuit Bar Association Bench & Bar Conference, “Competition Law: Patent and Trade Implications for Litigation and Commerce” panel (June 2019). The panel addressed issues at the intersection of antitrust and intellectual property law, including standard-essential patent litigation.
- “Justice Dept. IP Shift Favors Licensors,” Bloomberg Law Antitrust & Trade Regulation Report and Bloomberg Law Patent, Trademark & Copyright Journal (December 2017)
- “A Mechanism for Resolving SEP Disputes: Are the Regulators Right to Recommend Arbitration?,” Wireless Week (December 2016)
- Member, American Bar Association
- Member, Federal Circuit Bar Association