Peter Chassman

Peter Chassman is a seasoned patent litigator and the firmwide chair of Reed Smith's Intellectual Property (IP) Group, based in their Houston office. He joined Reed Smith in 2015, transitioning from Winston & Strawn where he led the Houston IP department. Leveraging a background in electrical engineering, Mr. Chassman focuses on high-tech patent infringement, patent licensing, trade secret disputes, and commercial contract disputes. His practice spans a wide array of technologies, including microprocessors, telecommunications (cellular, wireless), software (EMR, network security), data storage, integrated circuits, medical devices, and oilfield equipment.

Mr. Chassman's practice demonstrates experience representing both plaintiffs and defendants in complex intellectual property matters. While he has secured significant settlements for plaintiff technology companies, such as an $18.25 million payment from the U.S. government, a notable portion of his tracked experience and representative matters involve defending technology companies against infringement claims. For instance, he served as lead counsel for Keysight Technologies in the In re Centripetal Networks, LLC litigation, where his efforts resulted in a finding of no violation at the ITC, which was affirmed by the Federal Circuit. He also represented Motorola Mobility in a multi-count case against Apple involving contract and patent license issues.

He possesses extensive experience before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), having served as lead counsel in numerous proceedings. In the Centripetal Networks matter, he prevailed in a related inter partes review (IPR) for Keysight, and also acted as counsel for Keysight in other PTAB challenges related to Centripetal Networks. Furthermore, in a case against the U.S. government, Mr. Chassman successfully defended against and defeated 10 IPR petitions, avoiding their institution.

Mr. Chassman earned his J.D. with distinction from Emory University School of Law in 1993, following a B.E.E. with highest honor from Georgia Institute of Technology in 1989. He is admitted to practice in Texas and before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, as well as several U.S. District Courts and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.