Michael A. Ward

Michael A. Ward is an attorney at ArentFox Schiff with experience in patent litigation, notably representing plaintiffs in disputes involving complex technology. Based on available information, his practice appears to focus on the plaintiff side, with his single tracked appearance being for a plaintiff entity.

His primary known experience stems from his role as counsel for Centripetal Networks, LLC in the significant case of Centripetal Networks, LLC v. Cisco Systems, Inc. This litigation centered on network security technologies, including threat intelligence filtering, encrypted traffic analysis, and rule-based packet inspection, primarily involving Cisco's firewall, Stealthwatch, and Catalyst switch portfolios.

The Centripetal Networks case garnered national attention, initially resulting in a district court judgment against Cisco for willful infringement, with damages totaling between $2.6 billion and $3.2 billion, at the time a record-setting patent damages award. However, this judgment was subsequently vacated by the Federal Circuit due to a judicial recusal issue, and the Supreme Court declined further review. A new district court judge later found non-infringement for three of the asserted patents, a decision affirmed by the Federal Circuit in April 2026.

Specific details regarding Michael A. Ward's PTAB/IPR experience, educational background, or bar admissions are not reliably sourced in public records for this attorney to avoid conflation with other individuals sharing the same name. ArentFox Schiff's broader patent practice, however, encompasses a wide range of technologies, including pharmaceuticals, life sciences, telecommunications, and software, and handles post-grant proceedings.