John W. Treece

John W. Treece is a long-serving litigator, likely retired, formerly a partner in Sidley Austin's Chicago office. His practice focused primarily on the intersection of antitrust and patent law, along with other complex commercial litigation. Throughout his career, he consistently represented corporate defendants, a practice reflected in the provided data where he appears as lead counsel for the defendant in Verance Corp. v. Digimarc Corp.

Mr. Treece's career was distinguished by his work in high-stakes, multifaceted litigation. While at Sidley, where he became a partner in 1988 after starting his career at Isham Lincoln & Beale in 1978, he held major leadership positions, including global coordinator of the firm’s antitrust and competition practice. His notable cases were predominantly in the antitrust realm but often involved intellectual property issues. He represented a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary in a significant monopolization case involving bundled pricing and was deeply involved in the massive In re Brand Name Prescription Drugs Antitrust Litigation. The outcome of the Verance v. Digimarc patent matter is not readily available in public records.

Mr. Treece is not currently listed as an active attorney on Sidley Austin's website, and his professional profiles have not been updated since approximately 2017, indicating he has likely retired from the firm. There is no public record of him appearing in IPR or other PTAB proceedings. According to his public profile, Mr. Treece earned his B.A. from Harvard University and his J.D. from Columbia Law School.