Brett Johnson

Brett Johnson is a leading patent litigator and Co-Chair of the Litigation Department at Winston & Strawn LLP, where he also serves as Co-Office Managing Partner of the Dallas office. His practice is heavily focused on intellectual property and complex commercial litigation, encompassing patent, trade secret, and unfair competition matters. He regularly handles high-risk disputes across diverse industries, including high-tech, communications, banking, automotive, and private equity.

Johnson primarily represents defendants, including Fortune 100 corporations, in patent infringement and commercial disputes. His notable experience includes serving as lead counsel for Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America Inc. et al. in AutoConnect Holdings LLC v. Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America Inc. et al. This ongoing case in the Eastern District of Texas involves patents related to network-connected vehicles, in-vehicle multimedia systems, mobile apps, and automotive technology. He has also secured favorable settlements in patent infringement cases involving fiber optic technology and trade secret misappropriation.

With extensive trial experience, Johnson has tried more than 30 cases in federal and state courts and has achieved favorable litigation and arbitration results for a roster of prominent clients, including xAI, Ericsson, and Sabre, Inc., in addition to Toyota. His expertise extends to the strategic landscape of post-grant proceedings, as evidenced by his commentary on Federal Circuit decisions regarding discretionary denials of inter partes review (IPR) and post-grant review (PGR) petitions. He also has a noted PTAB involvement in the context of a key defense for Toyota, where Toyota Motor Corp. filed a PGR against AutoConnect Holdings LLC.

Prior to his current leadership roles at Winston & Strawn, Johnson gained valuable insights into the judiciary through a clerkship with the Honorable Paul Brown at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.