John D. Haynes

John D. Haynes is a Partner and co-chair of the Intellectual Property Group at Alston & Bird LLP, where he focuses his practice on patent litigation across various federal district courts and the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC). With over 25 years of experience, Mr. Haynes concentrates on complex technologies within the telecommunications industry, including wireless devices, electronics, semiconductor design, computer software, computer networks, and standard-essential patents (SEPs) subject to RAND or FRAND obligations. He also possesses an electrical engineering degree and is registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

His practice primarily involves defending operating companies in patent infringement lawsuits, as evidenced by four of his five tracked appearances being on the defendant side. He has represented major U.S. wireless carriers and telecommunications giants, frequently securing favorable settlements or jury verdicts for his clients. However, he also acts as lead counsel for complainants in the ITC, demonstrating experience in both offensive and defensive patent disputes.

Mr. Haynes has been involved in several prominent cases. He served as lead counsel for Nokia Technologies Oy in ITC actions against Amazon and HP regarding video coding standards (H.264, H.265, AV1), which resulted in an Initial Determination of infringement against Amazon and early settlement with HP. He also successfully defended Nokia of America Corporation in Eastern District of Texas jury trials against Smart Path Communications and Correct Transmission, securing complete defense verdicts in each. Additionally, he was part of the team that achieved a complete defense verdict for T-Mobile and Ericsson against a $253 million patent infringement claim brought by General Access Solutions. He was lead counsel for the defendant BOE Technology Group Co., Ltd. in Longitude Licensing Limited et al. v. BOE Technology Group Co., Ltd. et al., a case concerning LCD technology where a $67 million jury verdict was returned in favor of the plaintiffs. He also represented T-Mobile USA, Inc. in Piney Woods Mobility LLC v. T-Mobile USA, Inc., a case involving location-sharing technology. Beyond district court and ITC proceedings, Mr. Haynes has extensive experience handling inter partes review (IPR) and reexamination proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), including serving as lead counsel in IPRs.

Mr. Haynes earned his J.D. from Columbia University in 1999 and his B.S.E.E. from Florida State University in 1996. He is admitted to the State Bar of Georgia.