Joshua J. Newcomer

Joshua J. Newcomer — McKool Smith (Houston) | Tracked appearances: 1 (plaintiff side)

Specialty / focus. Newcomer is a general commercial litigator whose patent work is concentrated in ITC Section 337 practice involving standard-essential and implementation patents. Per his McKool Smith bio, his patent matters have centered on wireless and video-coding standards — 5G SEPs (Ericsson v. Lenovo), AVC/H.264 and HEVC/H.265 SEPs (Nokia against Amazon and HP), and 2G/3G/4G technology (Ericsson v. Apple) — as well as chip design (Bell Semiconductor) and video playback/interactive TV (TiVo subsidiaries Rovi and Veveo v. Comcast). He also describes particular strength in ITC-specific issues: economic domestic industry and public interest. His documented patent work is standards-and-electronics focused; nothing in the sourced record shows patent litigation in pharma, life sciences, or mechanical arts. Bankruptcy, fiduciary, fraudulent-transfer, and construction disputes remain the larger part of his practice according to Chambers, Benchmark, and Legal 500.

Side preference. The single tracked appearance — Nokia Technologies Oy v. ASUSTeK Computer Inc. (C.D. Cal. 2:25-cv-03053, filed April 7, 2025) — is plaintiff-side, with Newcomer listed as counsel for Nokia. That is a one-case sample and should not be read as a firm-side pattern. The web-sourced record shows him acting principally for patent owners/licensors as ITC complainants (Nokia, Ericsson, Rovi/Veveo), while also intervening at the ITC to defend suppliers' customers (e.g., Nokia and Ericsson intervening for T-Mobile against Daingean Technologies). It is fair to describe him as patent-owner/SEP-licensor-oriented with some defense-side customer work, but not as an NPE/PAE specialist — Nokia and Ericsson are operating-company licensors, not assertion entities.

Firm context. Newcomer is a Managing Principal in McKool Smith's Houston office and joined the firm in 2013 from Hogan Lovells. He is ranked in Chambers USA (Litigation: General Commercial, Texas), Benchmark Litigation, Legal 500 US City Elite (Houston commercial disputes), and Lawdragon 500. His role in the 2025 Nokia campaign includes a parallel ITC investigation (Inv. No. 337-TA-1448), where he is identified in USPTO/ITC filings as lead counsel for Nokia Technologies Oy and Nokia Corporation.

Notable matters and outcomes. Beyond the tracked ASUSTek case (Nokia's H.264/H.265 assertions against ASUS laptops, desktops, and handheld gaming devices, filed alongside related suits against Hisense, Acer, and earlier Amazon/HP actions), his bio credits work on the Ericsson–Lenovo global patent licensing dispute, which settled via a multi-year cross-license with all litigation and administrative proceedings — including at the USITC — withdrawn. He also worked the Rovi/Veveo v. Comcast ITC investigation. No individual verdict or Federal Circuit opinion attributable to Newcomer personally was verified in the sources reviewed.

PTAB / IPR. No PTAB appearance by Newcomer was verified. In the Nokia–ASUS IPR proceedings stemming from the same campaign (e.g., IPR2025-01153, IPR2025-01279), Nokia's PTAB filings are signed by other McKool Smith attorneys (Scott W. Hejny, Eric S. Hansen), with Fish & Richardson for the petitioner. His role in these disputes appears to be ITC and district court litigation rather than AIA trial practice.

Bar / education. J.D., magna cum laude, Temple University School of Law (2007); B.A., cum laude, University of Pennsylvania (2001). Clerked for Judge Carolyn Dineen King (5th Cir.) and Judge William H. Yohn Jr. (E.D. Pa.). Admitted to practice in Texas and before the U.S. District Courts for the Southern, Eastern, Northern, and Western Districts of Texas. No registration as a USPTO patent attorney was found in the sources reviewed.