James Richard Batchelder

James R. Batchelder was a highly experienced patent litigator, serving as a partner and senior trial lawyer in Ropes & Gray's intellectual property litigation group until his retirement in 2025. He held significant leadership roles at the firm, including managing partner of the Silicon Valley and San Francisco offices and a long-standing member of the firm's governing policy committee.

Batchelder's practice primarily focused on defending major operating technology and commercial enterprises in high-stakes patent infringement cases across various forums, including U.S. federal district courts, the International Trade Commission (ITC), and the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). His technology focus was broad, encompassing areas such as telecommunications (3G, 4G LTE, 5G, wireless communication systems), network security and threat detection, software (including enterprise software, operating systems, and data analytics), digital rights management, biometric authentication, digital imaging, audio compression, and mesh networking.

A notable aspect of his practice included extensive PTAB experience, where he was recognized as a "Legal Lion" by Law360. This is exemplified by his representation of Keysight Technologies, Inc. in the protracted Centripetal Networks, Inc. v. Keysight Technologies, Inc. et al. litigation. In this case, Batchelder and his team secured multiple victories for Keysight, including Federal Circuit affirmances of ITC decisions finding no infringement, and Federal Circuit affirmances of PTAB decisions that found most of Centripetal's asserted patent claims unpatentable, with further invalidation of remaining claims on cross-appeal. Other significant outcomes include a favorable settlement for LG Electronics involving standard-essential patents in cell phone technology and a $23 million jury verdict for Collision Communications against Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy. He also represented major clients such as Apple, Samsung, HP, and SAP in complex patent infringement actions.

Batchelder was admitted to the California Bar in 1988 and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in 2002. He earned his B.A. from Franklin & Marshall College and his J.D. from UCLA Law School.