David M. Berl

David M. Berl is a highly regarded patent litigator and Co-Chair of the Patent Litigation practice at Williams & Connolly LLP, based in Washington, D.C.. His practice primarily focuses on high-stakes patent disputes within the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and energy sectors, with extensive experience in Hatch-Waxman and Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act (BPCIA) litigation, as well as cases involving medical devices and technology patents.

Mr. Berl typically represents innovator operating companies, particularly brand-name pharmaceutical companies, in defense of their patented products against generic and biosimilar competitors. His experience includes serving as lead counsel for major corporations in significant patent litigations, arguing cases at the district court level, and before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

His notable representations include securing a $2.25 billion settlement for Genevant Sciences in COVID-19 patent litigation and successfully representing Regeneron Pharmaceuticals in BPCIA litigation concerning its vision-saving biologic product, Eylea®, which resulted in a bench trial confirming patent validity and infringement. He has also served as lead counsel for Pfizer in Hatch-Waxman litigation regarding its IBrance product, for Bayer in a patent suit filed by Biogen relating to multiple sclerosis treatments, and as co-lead counsel for MedImmune in a declaratory judgment action challenging the widely licensed "Queen patents".

Mr. Berl possesses substantial experience in post-grant proceedings, regularly appearing in inter partes review (IPR) proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). He successfully argued before the PTAB for Wyeth regarding the validity of a patent for its antibiotic product, Tygacil, in one of the first pharmaceutical IPR cases to proceed to trial and appeal. He earned his undergraduate degree in biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1997 and his J.D. from Stanford Law School, where he was a member of the Order of the Coif. He is admitted to practice in California.