Brett C. Govett

I'll research Brett C. Govett's professional background before drafting.

Let me verify the key case outcomes and PTAB activity.

Let me check the Federal Circuit appeal and remaining tracked matters.

Brett C. Govett — Patent Litigation Practice Summary

Focus areas. Govett's patent docket centers on electrical, computer, networking, and semiconductor technology, supported by an undergraduate chemistry background. Tracked matters span cybersecurity and network-threat-detection technology (Centripetal Networks v. Palo Alto Networks), semiconductor devices and fabrication (Greenthread v. Intel), connected-vehicle electronics (AutoConnect Holdings v. Volkswagen Group of America), telecommunications/wireless (SPADA Innovations v. AT&T; T-Mobile matters), and mechanical/aerospace fasteners and trade secrets (SPS Technologies v. Space-Lok). His firm biography describes a broader trial practice that also includes commercial litigation, copyright, and tort/toxic-tort defense.

Side preference. He is predominantly a defense-side litigator: 14 of his 15 tracked appearances are for defendants, largely accused operating companies facing patent-assertion suits, rather than patents asserted by his own clients. The single plaintiff-side entry (Visa USA Inc. v. Cortex MCP Inc.) was a local-counsel role in the Western District of Texas. This defense orientation is consistent with third-party analytics—Patexia's 2026 Patent Litigation Intelligence Report places him in the top 2 percent of attorneys representing defendants (and top 2 percent overall) for district court patent litigation filed July 2020–June 2025.

Firm context. Govett is a litigation partner in Norton Rose Fulbright's Dallas office. His patent-litigation career at the firm is continuous through its predecessor, Fulbright & Jaworski LLP, which combined with Norton Rose in 2013; docket records from pre-2013 matters list him under the Fulbright & Jaworski name. He has not held an in-house position.

Notable cases and outcomes. The most prominent tracked matter is Centripetal Networks, Inc. v. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (E.D. Va.), where he is identified as lead trial/lead defense counsel for Palo Alto Networks. Following a January 2024 jury trial, the jury found Palo Alto's next-generation firewalls infringed four Centripetal cybersecurity patents and awarded roughly $151.5 million; the court subsequently reduced the recovery to approximately $113.6 million in an October 2024 ruling (Law360/Reuters). The same dispute generated related Palo Alto–side PTAB and Federal Circuit activity, including an ex parte reexamination of U.S. Patent No. 10,931,797 and an appeal tracked as Federal Circuit No. 2024-2373. He was lead counsel for Intel in Greenthread, LLC v. Intel Corp., a semiconductor patent suit in the Western District of Texas in which the court severed and transferred the Intel claims to the District of Oregon. He is also listed as lead counsel for Qualcomm in Sol IP, LLC v. Qualcomm Inc.; I was unable to verify details of that case or of the Federal Circuit appeal within search limits.

PTAB / IPR experience. Yes—his tracked docket reflects PTAB and reexamination work, principally in the Palo Alto Networks/Centripetal campaign, where Palo Alto challenged the asserted patents at the Board (IPRs and a PGR) in parallel with the district court case. PTAB filings in that campaign list Ropes & Gray as lead petitioner counsel, so I could not confirm Govett's individual authorship of particular petitions from the available sources.

Bar and education. Admitted in Texas (1990); registered to practice before the USPTO; board certified in Civil Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and the National Board of Trial Advocacy. JD, cum laude, Texas Tech University School of Law (1990; Order of the Coif, Texas Tech Law Review); BA, cum laude, Chemistry, The Citadel (1987).