Christy uses innovative problem solving to defend and protect her clients’ investments in technology against intellectual property holders who stand between them and their enforcement actions. She combines a deep understanding of her clients’ businesses with creative legal insight and a commitment to fighting tenaciously for her clients’ business and courtroom interests. Christy provides cost-effective representation to clients at all stages of litigation, from claim evaluation through discovery, trial, post-trial briefing, and appeals.
Christy focuses her practice on patent infringement, trademark, and trade secret litigation. Her work includes managing the day-to-day case operations and supervising the associates of a national IP litigation team. As part of these efforts, Christy has litigated in United States federal district courts across the country, as well as the USPTO’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). She also represents clients who have been targeted by non-practicing entities (NPEs).
Her clients include companies in a wide range of technology areas, such as oil and gas well drilling and recovery, computer networks, carpet tufting machines, furniture, clothing and footwear, flooring products, roofing shingles, personal hygiene products, animal hygiene products, building components, digital cameras, voice recognition software, medial devices and packaging products.
Christy’s practice also involves guiding international clients in their cross-border, US-based patent litigation matters. She ensures that her clients develop comfort with the domestic legal system and ensures simultaneous compliance with data privacy laws in the foreign jurisdiction and US discovery obligations. In addition to her IP litigation work, Christy has experience representing clients in licensing matters. She helps businesses evaluate and protect their intellectual property assets, devise strategies to obtain federal and state IP protection, develop licensing and enforcement policies, and assess potential infringement claims.
Christy is regularly recognized as a leader in her profession, including as a Super Lawyers’ “Rising Star” in Patent Litigation in 2014-2019 and the 2022 IAM Patent 1000. In addition, she is a member of WBD’s Chambers-ranked Georgia IP Team. She is the co-author of WBD’s Georgia IP Litigation Blog.
Representative Experience
Any result the lawyer or law firm may have achieved on behalf of clients in other matters does not necessarily indicate similar results can be obtained for other clients.
- Secured a favorable defense verdict after a jury trial before Judge Albright in the Western District of Texas. In 2021, Repeat Precision, a competitor in the oil and gas industry, filed a lawsuit against DynaEnergetics, alleging that one of DynaEnergetics’ products (a setting tool used in downhole perforating) infringed on one of its patents. Repeat Precision sought damages and an injunction to halt DynaEnergetics’ production and sale of the setting tool. On April 3, 2023, the jury concluded that DynaEnergetics did not infringe any asserted patent claims.
- Defended Graphic Packaging International, Inc. against antitrust allegations based, in part, on assertions of sham patent litigation. Litigated this case through discovery and expert discovery, ultimately obtaining a complete summary judgment in Graphic Packaging’s favor. The U.S. District Court (District of Minnesota) granted summary judgment in favor of Graphic, finding no liability, and the decision was affirmed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in June 2020.
- In 2017, represented DynaEnergetics in a patent and trademark suit brought by GEODynamics in the Eastern District of Texas. After a four-day jury trial, DynaEnergetics obtained a complete defense verdict, including findings of noninfringement and three different bases of invalidity for each of the patent claims. At a subsequent bench trial on the trademark “reactive,” Judge Payne issued a judgment canceling GEODynamics’ incontestable trademark, finding that it was generic.
- After a four-day jury trial in October 2018, served as member of the WBD team that obtained a complete defense verdict on behalf of DynaEnergetics, including a finding of noninfringement and invalidity of each of the patent claims.
- Represented Nuance in an action filed in 2019 asserting claims for patent infringement, copyright infringement, and violations of DMCA and CFAA relating to automated speech recognition (ASR). The case was dismissed in 2021 following a confidential settlement.
- In only the fourth case that the Precedential Opinion Panel (“POP”) at the USPTO has ever reviewed, and the first related to a Final Written Decision, served as member of the WBD team that successfully represented DynaEnergetics in a request for rehearing and its motion to amend in a closely watched decision that represents a paradigm shift in the scope of Administrative Patents Judges’ duties in PTAB proceedings.
- In 2020, represented the patent holder in a $1 billion patent infringement lawsuit brought against tech giants Samsung and Qualcomm. The client was a Korean entity that developed microprocessor chip technology employed by virtually all handheld devices. The WBD team litigated the case through discovery and dispositive motions briefing before settling on terms favorable to the client.
- In 2012, won a patent infringement case in the Middle District of Florida for the primary producer of paperboard packaging for the soft drink industry. After a five-day jury trial, the validity of a patent covering the industry transforming paperboard container for twelve-pack beverages was upheld and found infringed by the competitor.
- Represented numerous clients in inter partes review proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.
Professional & Civic Engagement
- American Bar Association
- Youth softball coach
Thought Leadership
- Co-author, WBD Georgia IP Litigation Blog
- Co-author, "Patent Rights: What the Federal Court Giveth, the Supreme Court Taketh Away?" The Federal Lawyer (January/February 2013)
- Co-author, "Pleading Director Knowledge," In Brief, Practicing Law Institute (October 28, 2009)
- Author, "Fantasy Football: Illegal Gambling or Legal Game of Skill?" North Carolina Journal of Law & Technology, 8 N.C J.L. & Tech. 59 (Fall 2006)
Honors and Awards
- Honoree, Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigation Lawyers in Intellectual Property Litigation, 2023
- Honored as a member of the IAM Patent 1000: The World’s Leading Patent Practitioners, 2022, 2024
- Selected to the Georgia Rising Stars List by Super Lawyers (Thomson Reuters), 2014-2019