Kelly R. Hughes

Kelly R. Hughes is a highly experienced patent attorney with a significant focus on challenging patent validity and deterring baseless patent assertions, primarily on the plaintiff side. Her practice encompasses a diverse range of technology areas, including software, electronics, semiconductors, telecommunications, artificial intelligence, and data analytics, with some involvement in pharmaceuticals and mechanical devices. She predominantly represents petitioners in post-grant review proceedings, demonstrating a clear plaintiff-side preference in her 29 tracked appearances, with no recorded defendant-side representations.

Ms. Hughes currently serves as Senior Patent Counsel at Unified Patents, LLC, an organization dedicated to improving patent quality and combating assertions by Non-Practicing Entities (NPEs) and Standard-Essential Patent (SEP) holders. Prior to her in-house role at Unified Patents, she was a litigator with Erise IP, where she concentrated on patent litigation, particularly in software and electronics. Her case history shows extensive collaboration with Erise IP, often appearing as counsel for Unified Patents in various capacities, including Lead Counsel, Counsel, and Back-Up Counsel.

A core aspect of Ms. Hughes's practice is her substantial experience before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), where she handles inter partes reviews (IPRs) and ex parte reexaminations. She was part of the Erise IP team that achieved a "five-for-five" clean sweep at the PTAB in March 2022, invalidating all challenged claims in five patents related to mobile device battery life. Notable cases from her tracked appearances include Unified Patents v. SK Hynix, Inc. and Unified Patents v. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., and she has appeared in specific PTAB cases such as Unified Patents PTAB Data v. Headwater Research LLC and Unified Patents PTAB Data v. CellSpinSoft Inc.

Ms. Hughes earned her J.D. from the University of Colorado. She is a Registered Patent Attorney.