Philip W. Woo

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Philip W. Woo — Patent Litigation Practice Summary

Focus areas. Woo's practice is centered on electrical and electronic technologies. His firm bio describes technical depth across computer architecture, storage systems and networks, server architecture, microprocessors, memories, software and internet applications, AI/machine learning and neural networks, security and cryptography, telecommunications and wireless, interactive television/EPGs, semiconductor design and packaging, circuit design, electric/autonomous vehicles, and medical devices, with stated standards experience spanning HEVC (H.265), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), 802.15 (Bluetooth), 802.16 (WiMax), CDMA/GSM, MPEG2/4, and DVB. His tracked docket is consistent with that profile: the Proxense matters concern wireless biometric authentication and proximity-based digital keys, while Valtrus concerned data-center cooling and thermal management (a portfolio derived from Hewlett-Packard). He holds a B.S.E.E. and spent time in industry before law practice.

Side preference. He works both sides but skews defense/defense-adjacent: 3 defendant-side versus 2 plaintiff-side tracked appearances. The two "plaintiff" entries are Apple and Google as petitioners against Proxense — i.e., he was challenging patents, not enforcing them. On the enforcement side of the same dispute he represented Proxense's adversary Apple in district court, and he defended Digital Realty against Valtrus Innovations, a Key Patent Innovations monetization vehicle. His bio frames the practice as advising clients on both "the defense against and strategic assertion of patents," and notes he has represented patent owners seeking to license, so he is not a one-directional NPE-defense lawyer.

Firm context. He is a partner at Duane Morris LLP and was named Managing Partner of the firm's Silicon Valley office effective January 1, 2026. He joined Duane Morris in 2020 from Haynes and Boone (2017–2020); before that he was a partner at Sidley Austin (2003–2017), following Skjerven Morrill (1998–2003) and Baker Botts (1994–1997). He is not in-house.

Notable matters. In the Proxense campaign he was lead counsel for Apple and Google at the PTAB, and the Board's final written decision in Apple Inc. v. Proxense, LLC, IPR2025-00075, held all 20 challenged claims of U.S. Patent 9,679,289 unpatentable as obvious. In the district court case Proxense, LLC v. Apple Inc. (W.D. Tex., No. 6:24-cv-00143), Judge Albright denied Apple's motion to transfer and its motion to stay pending IPR. In Valtrus Innovations Ltd. v. Digital Realty Trust, Inc. (E.D. Tex., No. 2:24-cv-00535, before Judge Gilstrap), the claims against Digital Realty were dismissed with prejudice by joint motion in January 2025; IAM Patent 1000 describes the matter as "successfully resolved" under Woo's representation. His firm bio also credits him with a STMicroelectronics defense in which a court-appointed expert found the asserted patents invalid (anticipation, obviousness, written description/enablement) and not infringed. Caveat: the tracked case list attributes the Valtrus appearance to Sidley Austin, but contemporaneous coverage identifies Duane Morris as Digital Realty's defense counsel and IAM credits Woo personally; I could not reconcile the firm attribution from public sources.

PTAB/IPR experience. This is a core part of his practice, not incidental — he is listed as petitioner counsel across numerous Apple/Google/Microsoft v. Proxense IPRs and the related ex parte reexaminations, and he is a member of the PTAB Bar Association. His firm biography states he was counsel in "the first inter partes review proceeding resulting in a successful final determination invalidating claims of the patent at issue" (a firm self-description I could not independently verify). He is also described as handling prosecution and portfolio work, which is unusual for a lawyer with this volume of contested work.

Bar/education. Admitted in Texas (1994) and California (1998), registered before the USPTO (Reg. No. 39,880), and admitted to the Federal Circuit, N.D. Cal., and C.D. Cal.; J.D. with honors, USC Gould School of Law (1994); B.S.E.E. cum laude, Southern Methodist University (1990). Recognized in Best Lawyers (2013–2026), IAM Patent 1000 (2019–2025), and Managing IP IP Stars (2021–2025).