John Bruce Campbell

I'll research this attorney before drafting.

Practice focus. John Bruce Campbell is an Austin-based IP litigator at McKool Smith whose docket centers on software- and semiconductor-related patent disputes. Verified matters span voice/telephony and web-browsing technology (the Parus Holdings "robust voice browser" family), interactive web and computer-graphics software (Eolas Technologies), and semiconductor device patents (Greenthread's graded-dopant-region portfolio). Firm bio materials also list mechanical/medical-device work earlier in his career (cardiac pacemakers and defibrillators for Medtronic, non-destructive aircraft testing for Lockheed Martin), consistent with his mechanical-engineering undergraduate background. He is a registered patent attorney (USPTO Reg. No. 54,665).

Side preference. The tracked record is defense- and patent-owner-mixed: 1 plaintiff-side and 4 defendant-side appearances. In practice the picture is genuinely both-sided. He has defended operating companies in PTAB and district court (e.g., American Airlines against Intellectual Ventures I/II in E.D. Tex. and IPR2025-00782), while also representing patent owners/licensing entities as plaintiffs, including Eolas Technologies and, per a 2026 E.D. Tex. filing, NovaCloud Licensing against Microsoft. A caption caveat: the tracked "Google LLC v. Parus Holdings, Inc." entries list Google first, but Federal Circuit opinions confirm McKool Smith and Campbell appeared for Parus — the patent owner — in the underlying district court case and in Google's IPRs. Greenthread likewise appears as the defendant/patent owner in the tracked "Texas Instruments v. Greenthread" matter; the companion district case was Greenthread, LLC v. Texas Instruments.

Firm and IPR/PTAB experience. He has spent his career at McKool Smith (Austin), where he is listed as a member/principal and is recognized in Best Lawyers (Litigation–Patent; Litigation–IP) and Super Lawyers. Before joining, he clerked for then-Chief Judge Sue L. Robinson of the District Court of Delaware (2002–2003). PTAB work is substantial, not occasional: he appears as lead counsel in numerous IPRs, including IPR2017-01884, the Parus IPRs (IPR2020-00846/847; IPR2022-00279/358/523), the Greenthread semiconductor IPRs (IPR2023-01243/1244 and related), and the Intellectual Ventures/American Airlines IPR2025-00782.

Notable matters and outcomes. Parus Holdings, Inc. v. Google LLC, 70 F.4th 1365 (Fed. Cir. 2023) — Campbell argued for Parus; the court affirmed PTAB obviousness holdings adverse to his client, with a parallel nonprecedential affirmance on § 101 grounds in March 2025 and a July 2026 vacatur/remand of the '705 IPR decision, again adverse to Parus. Eolas Technologies v. Adobe, Amazon, Google, et al. (E.D. Tex.) — Campbell was on the McKool Smith team for Eolas; the 2012 Tyler jury invalidated the asserted patents, and the related N.D. Cal. follow-on litigation produced a contested patent-prosecution-bar ruling against Eolas and McKool Smith, with the Federal Circuit affirming invalidity in 2024. Greenthread — PTAB final written decisions invalidated the challenged semiconductor claims; Greenthread sought Director Review (denied) and appealed in 2026. The $565M Eolas–Microsoft verdict sometimes linked to this work was handled by Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi, not McKool Smith.

Bar/education. Admitted Texas (2002) and to the USPTO; J.D. with honors, University of Texas School of Law (2002); B.S. mechanical engineering, Ohio Northern University (1996); M.B.A., Xavier University (1998).