Helena D. Kiepura

I'll research this attorney before drafting the summary.

Helena D. Kiepura — Patent Litigation Practice Summary

Focus areas. Kiepura is a Washington, DC–based patent litigator whose practice centers on Section 337 investigations at the U.S. International Trade Commission (she has litigated more than forty such investigations) alongside federal district court patent and trade secret work. Her technical range is broad rather than single-sector: the tracked cases are all Wi-Fi/wireless standards matters (IEEE 802.11ax, i.e. Wi-Fi 6, standard-essential patents originally from NXP, Marvell and ZTE), while her published ITC and district court experience covers semiconductors and computer hardware/software, consumer electronics, medical devices and medical aesthetic technology, pharmaceuticals (including state antitrust disputes arising from Hatch-Waxman settlements), beverage dispensing equipment, construction materials, automobile motors and RFID/toll-collection technology. Her background is in biological sciences, which aligns with the life sciences/medical device component of that list.

Side preference. The tracked docket data skews heavily defense-side — 7 defendant-side appearances against 1 plaintiff-side coding. All of the currently tracked matters are defense representations of HP Inc., Hewlett Packard Enterprise, and Aruba Networks in the Velocity Communication Technologies Wi-Fi 6 campaign, where she appears as counsel/lead counsel. The single plaintiff-coded entry appears to be a docket-coding artifact, since Velocity (the NPE) is the plaintiff in that family of suits. Public profiles and the firm bio nevertheless describe her as having significant experience on both sides, including as ITC counsel for a complainant (Honeywell). Net: predominantly a defense-side litigator for operating companies and technology importers, with meaningful complainant-side ITC experience.

Firm context and notable matters. She joined DLA Piper in June 2021 as a partner in the Patent Litigation subgroup and has served as Vice Chair of the firm's ITC practice since March 2022; she previously practiced at Kirkland & Ellis. Prominent tracked cases are the four Velocity Communication Technologies matters (E.D. Tex., Wi-Fi 6 SEPs). From her published experience: Honeywell v. Zebra (ITC/W.D. Tex./E.D.N.Y.), where the DLA team obtained a reported $360 million settlement for Honeywell on the eve of the ITC trial; Maxell v. Lenovo/Motorola, where the team won dismissal/transfer of the W.D. Tex. case to the Northern District of Illinois on improper venue and the ITC Staff supported respondents on all asserted patents; and Intellectual Ventures v. Hewlett Packard Enterprise, a five-case W.D. Tex. series plus an IPR and an HPE declaratory-judgment action in Delaware. She was also named among the DLA team representing Samsung in the Maxell personal-electronics litigation noted by Law.com's "Litigator of the Week" (Nov. 2025); that broader Maxell–Samsung dispute produced a $112M jury verdict in May 2025 that was later overturned on JMOL — but I could not independently confirm her individual role in the trial itself, only her inclusion on the DLA team roster, and the $360 million Honeywell figure comes from the firm's own bio rather than a court record.

PTAB/IPR and credentials. She appears in IPR proceedings as counsel (e.g., substituted in as backup counsel in IPR2022-00906; her registration number is 64,441), and the firm bio lists PTAB work as part of her practice — though publicly available records show her PTAB activity as secondary to her ITC docket rather than high-volume. Bar admissions: District of Columbia, Illinois, and the USPTO; she is also admitted before the Supreme Court and multiple district courts. Education: J.D., University of Illinois College of Law; B.S., Cornell University.