B. Russell Horton

B. Russell Horton is a seasoned patent litigator and a Partner at George, Brothers, Kincaid & Horton LLP in Austin, Texas, where his practice includes intellectual property litigation, patent litigation, and trade secret disputes. He has also been involved in cases with Manatt, Phelps & Phillips. Horton handles complex commercial, patent, trade secret, antitrust, and securities disputes, representing both plaintiffs and defendants.

His patent litigation practice demonstrates a focus on software, cybersecurity, and payment systems technologies. Notable engagements include representing Qomplx LLC as local counsel in Qomplx LLC v. Microsoft Corporation, a patent infringement case concerning large-scale data analysis, risk-based multi-factor authentication, and network threat correlation, which is currently ongoing with a jury trial scheduled for June 2027. He also served as counsel or local counsel for Monticello Enterprises LLC in plaintiff-side actions against Starbucks Corporation and Petco Health & Wellness Company Inc. et al., and defended Petco Animals Supply Stores Inc. in related litigation brought by Monticello. Patents asserted by Monticello Enterprises LLC typically involve payment processing and social networking purchasing processes; one such payment patent was found invalid in an ex parte reexamination proceeding in November 2024.

While B. Russell Horton's firm practice includes intellectual property litigation, specific regular appearances in Inter Partes Review (IPR) or Post-Grant Review (PGR) proceedings at the PTAB are not explicitly detailed in publicly available profiles. However, he is involved in district court litigation, such as Qomplx LLC v. Microsoft Corporation, where related IPRs have been filed against the asserted patents by Microsoft.

Admitted to the State Bar of Texas in 1986, Horton is also admitted to practice before the U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Southern, and Western Districts of Texas. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Music, magna cum laude, from Houston Baptist University in 1983 and his Juris Doctor from the University of Texas School of Law in 1986. He is board-certified in Civil Trial Law and Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.