Katherine Vidal

I'll research Katherine Vidal's professional background before drafting.

Let me verify the specific cases and practice statistics.

Katherine ("Kathi") K. Vidal — patent litigation practice summary

Focus areas. Vidal is a first-chair patent and trade-secret litigator working primarily in high-technology subject matter — software, computer networking and data storage, semiconductors/memory, electronics, AI, medical devices, and consumer products — plus § 101 eligibility and standard-setting/SEP-FRAND policy work. Her tracked matters fit that profile: the NetApp defense (data storage/computing-system patents) and the Micron defense in the long-running Netlist memory-module dispute. Practice descriptions from her firms and from her USPTO tenure confirm a technical base in electrical engineering, software systems, and AI, and she has handled district court, ITC, PTAB, and Federal Circuit matters.

Side preference. She is predominantly a defense-side litigator. IAM's 2021 review of her docket found she had represented accused infringers roughly 85% of the time, with Apple, Microsoft, and SAP among her largest clients, and the tracked-appearance data here is consistent (0 plaintiff-side, 2 defendant-side). She has represented both sides over a 25-plus-year career — including patent owners in ITC and PTAB proceedings and startup clients — but the center of gravity is defending operating companies against NPE/PAE assertions.

Firm context. She is a partner and Executive Committee member at Winston & Strawn (recent firm materials have used the name "Winston Taylor" following the firm's 2026 combination; treat the current branding as subject to confirmation). She was managing partner of Winston's Silicon Valley office from 2017 and rejoined the firm in December 2024. Before that she spent roughly two decades at Fish & Richardson, where she served on the management committee and as global head of litigation. From April 2022 to December 2024 she served as Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and USPTO Director. One data note: the tracked case list attributes the Valtrus v. NetApp matter to Fish & Richardson, but the E.D. Tex. docket (No. 2:25-cv-00517, consolidated into 2:25-cv-00516) lists her as NetApp's counsel of record with Winston & Strawn's Silicon Valley office — the firm attribution in the tracker appears to be an artifact.

Notable cases and outcomes. SAP America v. InvestPic (Fed. Cir. 2018) — secured a § 101 invalidity win for SAP affirmed on appeal, with attorney's fees awarded under § 285, in a frequently cited opinion. Chamberlain Group v. Ryobi/Technotronic (TTI) (N.D. Ill.) — August 2017 jury verdict of willful infringement; the court then granted treble damages, fees, costs, and a permanent injunction. Exafer v. Microsoft (W.D. Tex.) — a summary-judgment win of no damages for the defendant. In the tracked Valtrus Innovations v. NetApp matter she is lead counsel for NetApp and filed a Rule 11 sanctions motion on its behalf; press reports indicate the case was transferred from Texas to Delaware in 2026. In the tracked Micron/Netlist dispute (E.D. Tex. No. 2:22-cv-203 and Fed. Cir. Nos. 24-1312, 24-2240), Winston represents Micron, with Vidal listed as district court counsel; the Federal Circuit affirmed the PTAB's rejection of Micron's obviousness challenges in February 2026.

PTAB / IPR. Yes — substantially. She litigated IPRs in private practice and, as Director, authored the interim Fintiv discretionary-denial guidance, revised the Director Review process (including the Arthrex implementation), and issued numerous Director Review decisions on PTAB practice, so she is unusually fluent in PTAB procedure from both the practitioner and agency side.

Bar / education. Admitted in California, the District of Columbia, Arizona, and before the USPTO; B.S. electrical engineering (Binghamton, 1990), M.S. electrical engineering (Syracuse, 1992), J.D. (Penn, 1996, Editor-in-Chief of the law review); clerked for Judge Alvin A. Schall on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.