Marla R. Butler

Marla R. Butler is an experienced patent litigation attorney at Thompson Hine LLP, where she serves as a partner in the Business Litigation and Intellectual Property practice groups and is the Office Partner in Charge for the Atlanta office. Her practice focuses on high-stakes commercial litigation, arbitrations, and trials, particularly in the medical, semiconductor, power, networking, and other high-tech industries. She handles patent, trade secret, and contract disputes, with a demonstrated understanding of complex technologies, including medical imaging, artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms, software, and hybrid tire cord technology. Ms. Butler joined Thompson Hine in May 2019 from Robins Kaplan LLP.

Ms. Butler represents clients on both the plaintiff and defendant sides, assisting in monetizing patent assets and defending against infringement allegations. For instance, she is counsel (pro hac vice) for Defendants/Counterclaim-Plaintiffs Caption Health, Inc. and GE HealthCare Technologies Inc. in the ongoing district court litigation, University of British Columbia v. Caption Health, Inc. et al. (N.D. Cal.). She has also served as lead counsel for a global medical technology and life sciences company in multiple patent infringement cases involving AI and various medical imaging modalities, and has secured dismissals with prejudice in patent infringement matters.

Her practice includes significant involvement in post-grant proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). In the CaptION Health Inc. v. University of British Columbia matter, Ms. Butler represents the Petitioner, Caption Health, Inc., in related inter partes reviews (IPR2025-01422 and IPR2025-01066), challenging the validity of U.S. Patent Nos. 10,751,029 and 11,129,591.

Ms. Butler earned her J.D., cum laude, from Florida State University in 1997 and her B.A. from Cleveland State University. She is admitted to the Georgia Bar (1997), the New York Bar (2010), and the Minnesota Bar (2016), and is admitted to practice before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, as well as several U.S. District Courts.