Paul Ainsworth

I'll research this attorney before drafting.

Let me verify his background, notable cases, and PTAB/Federal Circuit work.

A few checks on outcomes and prior firm history.

Paul A. Ainsworth — Director, Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox PLLC (Washington, D.C.)

Specialty / focus. Ainsworth is a first-chair trial attorney in Sterne Kessler's Trial & Appellate Practice Group, handling patent and trade secret disputes in federal district courts, at the U.S. International Trade Commission under Section 337, and before the Federal Circuit. His most developed niche is Hatch-Waxman/BPCIA pharmaceutical litigation — Legal 500 editors specifically flag his "particular proficiency in handling Hatch-Waxman litigation, advising on both innovative and generic drugs" — and he has publicly described leading teams on more than twenty patent cases. Firm and directory bios also list medical devices, chemical manufacturing, and consumer products as client industries. His ITC docket is technology-diverse rather than pharma-only: water filtration (Brita), electronic nicotine delivery systems (Juul Labs), road construction and milling machinery (Wirtgen/Vögele), lithium silicate dental prostheses (Ivoclar Vivadent), bathtub drain assemblies (WCM Industries), and video game machines (Nintendo). Trade secret work under the Defend Trade Secrets Act is a secondary but explicit part of the practice. Notably, nothing in the public record shows Wi-Fi/standards-essential patent work — that is not a demonstrated specialty for him.

Side preference. The tracked dataset shows a single, unnamed defendant-side matter (0 plaintiff / 1 defendant), so that sample is too thin to establish a preference — it should not be read as a defense-only practice. Public filings and his own representative-matters list show genuine two-sided work: he was lead counsel for Complainant Brita LP in the ITC (337-TA-1294) and for Complainant Juul Labs (337-TA-1139), while also representing ITC respondents (Wirtgen, Nintendo, Powerboard). In Hatch-Waxman matters he appears on both innovator (Catalyst/SERB, Medeva, Shire) and generic (Teva, Sandoz, Apotex, Lannett, Aurobindo, Amneal, Novel Laboratories, Kremers Urban, Wockhardt) sides. He is not an NPE/PAE-focused filer.

Firm context and background. He has been at Sterne Kessler since roughly 2012 and was elected a director in January 2014; the firm is his only identified patent litigation platform. He began his legal career as a law clerk to the Honorable Sue L. Robinson, U.S. District Judge for the District of Delaware. One aggregated third-party profile (SignalHire) lists a 2012–2013 stint at Covington & Burling, but I could not confirm that from a primary source and would treat it as unverified.

PTAB / IPR, notable matters, credentials. His PTAB experience is documented rather than inferred: a 2014 pro hac vice affidavit lists prior appearances in IPR2013-00012, -00015, -00214, -00215, -00368, -00371, and -00372, with pro hac vice admission sought in the Apotex travoprost IPRs (IPR2013-00428/-00429/-00430), where he served as petitioner's trial counsel in the parallel Alcon v. Apotex district court case; he also appeared in the Galderma v. Amneal (Oracea) IPR. He is described by his firm as a frequent PTAB practitioner. On outcomes, verifiable specifics are limited: in 337-TA-1294 the ALJ denied respondents' motion for summary determination of invalidity and the investigation proceeded to an evidentiary hearing with Brita as complainant, but I could not confirm a final Commission determination or settlement from the sources available, and I found no verified Federal Circuit merits ruling or verdict attributed to him by name. He is a contributing author of Patent Office Litigation (2d ed., 2017) and two ABA treatises on ANDA litigation (2019, 2022), and has written on TC Heartland's effect on Hatch-Waxman venue. Bar/education: J.D., William & Mary Law School (2003); B.A., Political Science, George Washington University; admitted in Maryland (2003) and D.C. (2004) — note that graduation year and the full list of admitted jurisdictions (one directory adds West Virginia) vary across third-party profiles.