C. Ryan Pinckney

Associate

Ryan Pinckney is an intellectual property and patent trial lawyer with 15 years of experience handling complex patent litigation from complaint to trial. He has helped clients in cases involving computer graphics, home appliances, HVAC equipment and controls, and many other areas.

In addition to his work before the International Trade Commission, Mr. Pinckney also has extensive experience in patent litigation in federal district courts across Texas, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and North Carolina.

A graduate of Harvard Law School, Mr. Pinckney previously worked in the intellectual property group at the AmLaw 100 firm Baker Botts and the patent litigation boutique Antonelli, Harrington & Thompson.

As part of his effort to help the community, Mr. Pinckney has tried over a dozen cases as a volunteer prosecutor for the City of Houston.

Prior to attending law school, he graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering from Clemson University, where he also participated in the co-op program, working every other semester at Siemens Information and Communication Networks in Boca Raton, Florida.

  • Textile Computer Systems, Inc. v. Broadway National Bank d/b/a Broadway Bank, Fiserv, Inc., Fiserv Solutions, LLC, U.S. Bancorp, and U.S. Bank National Association d/b/a Elan Financial Services (W.D. Tex., 6:21-cv-1050) – Ryan successfully represented the patent holder in a patent infringement dispute related to tokenized payment technology.
 
  • Far North Patents, LLC v. Broadcom Pte. Ltd., Broadcom Corp, and CA Inc. d/b/a CA Technologies (E.D. Tex., 4:19-cv-939) – Ryan successfully represented the patent holder in a patent infringement dispute related to telecommunication Quality of Service technology and time sensitive networking technology.
 
  • American Patents LLC v. Shenzhen Tenda Technology Co., Ltd. (E.D. Tex., 4:19-cv-880) – Ryan successfully represented the patent holder in a patent infringement dispute related to MIMO wireless technology. He later obtained a default judgment against defendant including costs, prejudgment interest, and an ongoing royalty.
 
  • American Patents LLC v. Analog Devices, Inc., Marvell International, Ltd., Marvell Technology Group Ltd., MediaTek Inc., MediaTek USA Inc., Qualcomm Incorporated, and Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. (W.D. Tex., 6:18-cv-356) – Ryan successfully represented the patent holder in a patent infringement dispute related to variable-length coding and decoding technology for media data.
 
  • X-Mobile Technologies LLC v. Apple Inc. (E.D. Tex., 4:17-cv-702) – Ryan successfully represented the patent holder in a patent infringement dispute related to always-on DSP technology, automatic brightness control technology, and wearable mobile technology.
 
  • Unified Patents Inc. v. Plectrum LLC (PTAB, IPR2017-1430) – Ryan successfully represented the patent owner in Inter Partes Review of a patent relating to network address caching technology before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board where trial was instituted on only two of 15 challenged claims.
 
  • Carrier Corporation v. Goodman Global Inc., Goodman Manufacturing Company, L.P., Goodman Global Holdings, Inc., Goodman Distribution, Inc., and Goodman Sales Company (D. Del., 1:12-cv-930) – Ryan successfully represented the defendants in a patent infringement dispute related to network communications and automatic configuration in HVAC units.
 
  • LG Electronics USA Inc. and LG Electronics, Inc. v. Whirlpool Corporation (D. Del. 1:08-cv-234) – Ryan successfully represented Whirlpool in a case relating to refrigerator and ice maker patents asserted by both parties.
  • Harvard Law School, JD

  • Clemson University, BS (Computer Engineering), Magna Cum Laude

  • Top 250 Most Active Patent Attorneys – 2025 Patexia Patent Litigation Intelligence Report
  • State Bar of Texas
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
  • United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
  • United States District Court for the Western District of Texas
  • Author, “Reviewability of decisions to institute an inter partes review,” Baker Botts Post-Grant Report, December 2014.

  • Co-Author, “Putting Context into Commercial Success: The Role of the Economic Expert,” with Seth T. Kaplan, PhD and Andrew Szamosszegi, State Bar of Texas Advanced Patent Litigation Course, July 17-18, 2014.

Our offices are located in Houston, Texas, but our practice is nationwide and we regularly consult on matters in foreign jurisdictions as well.

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