David Philip Whittlesey

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David P. Whittlesey — Patent Litigation Summary

Focus areas. Whittlesey is an Austin-based litigation partner whose practice is broader than patents but includes a substantial IP litigation component. Chambers (USA 2026) describes him as advising on high-stakes disputes across intellectual property, tech, energy and finance, and his firm bio lists patent cases spanning telecommunications (Click-to-Call Technologies LP v. AT&T; Visual Interactive Phone Concepts v. AT&T Mobility), computer/consumer-electronics manufacturing (Bandspeed, Inc. v. Sony; Kuster v. Western Digital), automotive (StratosAudio v. Volkswagen Group of America and Hyundai), and data/software (Dynamic 3D Geosolutions v. IHS). The tracked matter, Peter Henrik Pedersen v. Oracle Corp., involved a software/email-message distribution patent (U.S. 6,965,920) asserted against Oracle's Responsys platform. He also handles trademark (YETI Coolers) and trade-secret work, and his prior Andrews Kurth bio reflects a general commercial litigation base — securities, M&A, systems integration and software disputes.

Side preference. The tracked data show a defense orientation: 0 plaintiff-side and 1 defendant-side appearance. That is consistent with the wider docket record, where he is most often lead counsel for operating companies — Oracle, AT&T, Volkswagen, Western Digital, and Hon Hai/Foxconn (ACQIS LLC v. Hon Hai Precision Industry, W.D. Tex. No. 6:23-cv-00264) — rather than for NPEs or individual inventors. He is not exclusively a defense lawyer, however: he represents Curadev Pharma as petitioner/plaintiff in Curadev Pharma Pvt. Ltd. v. University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (Texas state courts and the Supreme Court of Texas), a sovereign-immunity dispute arising from a biotech collaboration rather than a patent infringement claim.

Firm context. He is a partner in the Austin office of A&O Shearman, the firm formed May 1, 2024 by the combination of Shearman & Sterling and Allen & Overy. His earlier partner-level patent and commercial litigation work was at Andrews Kurth (now Hunton Andrews Kurth), which he joined in Austin in May 2009. The tracked Oracle matter was staffed through Shearman & Sterling.

Notable matters and outcomes. In the tracked case, Whittlesey was lead and local counsel for Oracle; Oracle moved to dismiss, then moved to transfer the case from Waco to the Austin Division, which Judge Alan Albright granted as unopposed on August 24, 2023. The dispute ultimately resolved by agreement: Pedersen's claims were dismissed with prejudice, and the parallel Oracle-filed IPR (IPR2023-00867) was terminated pre-institution on a joint motion in October 2023, with the PTAB refunding Oracle's post-institution fees. On the firm bio, he acted as lead counsel for AT&T in Click-to-Call (case dismissed after a summary judgment motion) and for AT&T Mobility in Visual Interactive Phone Concepts (dismissed with no money changing hands) — both defense-favorable resolutions, though neither reflects a merits verdict.

PTAB / IPR experience. No record was found of Whittlesey appearing as counsel of record in an IPR or PGR; the Oracle petition was prosecuted by other counsel (Matt Berkowitz, Patrick Colsher and colleagues). His PTAB exposure appears indirect — coordinating district court litigation with IPRs, including Oracle's successful opposed motion to stay the Pedersen case pending IPR. This point is not well sourced and should not be asserted as a PTAB practice.

Bar and education. Licenses: Texas Bar No. 00791920 (admitted 1994); registered foreign lawyer with the Solicitors Regulation Authority (England & Wales) since January 2024. His earlier bio also lists admissions to the N.D., S.D., E.D. and W.D. Tex. and the Fifth Circuit. Education: B.B.A., University of Texas at Austin (1991); J.D., University of Houston Law Center (1994, magna cum laude; Order of the Coif). Chambers ranks him Band 2 for Texas general commercial litigation (Austin & surrounds).