Christopher Pepe

Christopher Pepe is a patent litigation partner at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, based in Washington, D.C.. His practice encompasses a wide range of technologies, including pharmaceuticals, drug delivery devices, surgical instruments, wireless communications, messaging applications, gas turbines, e-vapor devices, thermal imaging, and chemical coating formulations. His experience also includes cutting-edge technologies like Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) relevant to Bitcoin mining and molecular profiling in spatial biology.

Pepe primarily represents defendants, consistently defending operating companies in complex patent disputes, as reflected by his tracked appearances being exclusively on the defendant side. Prior to joining Paul, Weiss, he was at Weil, Gotshal & Manges.

His notable representations include defending Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. in Malikie Innovations Limited v. Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc., a case involving patents related to Elliptic Curve Cryptography and Bitcoin mining technology. He also acted as lead counsel for NanoString Technologies, Inc. (now Bruker Spatial Biology, Inc.) in 10x Genomics, Inc. et al. v. NanoString Technologies, Inc., a dispute over gene technology and molecular profiling. While a jury awarded 10x Genomics over $31 million in damages, NanoString has indicated plans to appeal the verdict. Pepe was also involved in the successful defense of Altria in a patent validity dispute against JUUL in 2025, concerning e-vapor products.

Pepe possesses significant experience in inter partes review (IPR) proceedings before the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (PTAB), having been involved in multiple IPRs as counsel for both petitioners and patent owners, including for General Electric and Intuitive Surgical. He has successfully leveraged IPRs to invalidate asserted patents, with one such invalidation for a pharmaceutical client affirmed by the Federal Circuit. He is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. He earned his J.D., magna cum laude, from American University Washington College of Law in 2012, an M.S. from Boston University in 2009, and a B.S. from Vanderbilt University in 2005.