Gregory Hillyer

I'll research this attorney before drafting.

Gregory Hillyer — Patent Litigation Practice Summary

Gregory L. Hillyer is a registered patent attorney (USPTO Reg. No. 44,154) and the principal of Hillyer Legal, PLLC in Washington, D.C., where company listings have identified him with the title Director of Litigation. His technical background is chemistry-heavy — an M.S. in organic chemistry (University of Pittsburgh) and B.S. in chemistry (SUNY Oswego), preceded by work as a synthetic/medicinal chemist at DuPont Merck and as a patent agent at DuPont Pharmaceuticals. Firm and directory descriptions of his practice span pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, organic/inorganic chemistry, OTC medicines, cosmetics and veterinary products, medical and mechanical devices, polymers and finishes, electronics, telecommunications, computer-related inventions and business methods. His tracked and reported patent matters skew toward software/mobile-app and business-method patents and consumer-products technologies rather than standards-based work; no Wi-Fi/SEP or standards-essential litigation appears in his public record, and pharma work shows up mainly on the prosecution/counseling side.

On side preference, his overall docket is genuinely mixed rather than one-directional. The tracked data covers three appearances — one plaintiff-side and two defendant-side — but public filings show him in practice on both ends: prosecuting infringement claims for patent-holder Trinity Info Media, LLC in its online-dating enforcement campaign (Covalent, Hornet Networks, The League App), while also defending accused products in matters such as Allen Video Technology v. SIM2 U.S.A., the Fontem Ventures e-cigarette suits against VMR Products, and TQP Development v. DirecTV (for Gexa Energy). He has also represented plaintiffs in smaller patent suits (Travel Photo v. Royal Caribbean, GPS Industries, Diabetic Care RX). One caveat: the tracked list labels the Trinity Info Media v. The League App appearance as defendant-side, whereas contemporaneous filings and reporting describe Trinity as the plaintiff and Hillyer as its counsel in the parallel Trinity suits — the source of that party-role discrepancy is not verifiable from the materials reviewed.

Firm history. Hillyer Legal is his current boutique. Before founding it he was a member at Brinks Gilson & Lione, which he joined in 2016 along with a group of patent litigators from Feldman Gale P.A., where he had been managing partner of the D.C. office. Earlier roles include associate at Woodcock Washburn LLP (Philadelphia) and Assistant Public Defender in Philadelphia. He has taught as an adjunct at Temple's trial advocacy program and at American University Washington College of Law.

Notable matter. His most prominent patent case is Trinity Info Media, LLC v. Covalent, Inc., in which he argued for the patent-owner appellant before the Federal Circuit. The court affirmed the Central District of California's dismissal on the pleadings, holding the '321 and '685 poll-based networking patents ineligible under § 101 (No. 2022-1308, July 14, 2023) — an adverse result, but a reported Federal Circuit argument. Beyond that, no verdicts or settlements were verifiable in the sources reviewed.

PTAB/IPR. Evidence of regular PTAB practice is thin. He appears as lead counsel for a petitioner in at least one IPR filing (IPR2015-00859, then at Feldman Gale), and his firm's practice descriptions list IPR, PGR, and post-grant proceedings — but no recurring pattern of IPR/PGR appearances was verifiable, so he should not be described as a frequent PTAB practitioner on this record.

Bar/education (sourced). J.D. with honors, Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law (2000); admitted in Pennsylvania (2000), Florida (2003), Maryland (2007), and D.C. (2008); registered before the USPTO; admitted to the Federal Circuit and Fourth Circuit.