John Austin Curry

John Austin Curry is a principal trial attorney at Caldwell Cassady & Curry, P.C., focusing his practice primarily on patent infringement disputes involving advanced technologies. His technical focus areas span electrical engineering, computer science, network security, and telecommunications, as evidenced by his work on patents related to secure communications, internet security, network technology, computer network encryption, and the ATSC 3.0 (NextGen TV) standard for television broadcasts. He also has experience with technologies in oil field services and medical devices, as well as mercury control at coal-fired power plants.

Mr. Curry's patent litigation practice largely centers on representing plaintiffs, including patent holders seeking to enforce their intellectual property rights. His case history shows a consistent plaintiff-side role, with all three tracked appearances being on the plaintiff side, and firm highlights emphasizing securing substantial verdicts for patentees.

Currently a named principal at Caldwell Cassady & Curry, which he co-founded in 2013, Mr. Curry was previously with McKool Smith. Prior to his legal career, he gained industry experience at a semiconductor manufacturer, where he developed software for secure near-range consumer transactions.

He has played a lead role in numerous high-stakes patent cases, most notably representing VirnetX Inc. in extensive litigation against Apple Inc. In these cases, Mr. Curry helped secure multiple significant jury verdicts, including awards of $368 million, $625 million, $302 million, $502.6 million, and $502.8 million for VirnetX across various trials for infringement of internet security and network patents. While some of these damages awards were subsequently impacted by Federal Circuit decisions, including those related to Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) unpatentability findings, the firm's overall work has contributed to over $2.5 billion in verdicts and settlements for clients. Other notable cases include securing a $105 million verdict for VidStream, LLC against Twitter, Inc. (now X Corp.) for video sharing technology in April 2025, a $1.7 million verdict for Constellation Designs against LG Electronics Inc. in July 2023 for NextGen TV technology, a $22 million verdict for Cellular Communications Equipment LLC against Apple Inc. in 2016 for a network technology patent, and a resolution via licensing agreement for ZitoVault in its patent infringement lawsuit against IBM in 2018 for computer network encryption software. Mr. Curry was also involved in the ongoing patent infringement case Midwest Energy Emissions Corp. v. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., concerning mercury control technology, which saw a jury verdict of induced infringement.

While specific direct appearances in IPR/PGR proceedings are not detailed, Mr. Curry and his firm have been actively involved in appellate matters resulting from PTAB decisions, particularly in the VirnetX litigation, where Federal Circuit affirmations of PTAB invalidation findings ultimately led to the dismissal of some damages claims.

Mr. Curry holds a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law (2007) and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and Mathematics from Southern Methodist University (2004, summa cum laude, valedictorian). He is admitted to practice in Texas (2007) and New York state courts, along with various U.S. District Courts, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and the U.S. Supreme Court.