Ralph A. Phillips

Ralph A. Phillips is a patent litigator with extensive experience in U.S. district courts and before the International Trade Commission (ITC) in Section 337 proceedings. His practice focuses on complex patent infringement cases, particularly those involving standard-essential patents (SEPs) in wireless communications and other high-technology sectors. Phillips' technical background as a process control engineer, where he worked with power generation, chemical, mechanical, and electronic control systems, underpins his ability to handle diverse and intricate innovations, including in software, internet, hardware, semiconductors, and medical devices.

Phillips primarily represents defendants, with six of his seven tracked appearances being on the defense side for operating companies. His work includes defending major electronics manufacturers such as Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. and HP Inc. against patent infringement claims brought by entities like Wilus Institute of Standards and Technology Inc., whose patents are related to wireless communication methods and Wi-Fi standards. While primarily defending, he also has experience representing plaintiffs, as seen in a case for Wilus Institute of Standards and Technology Inc. and securing a $50 million verdict for LG Philips LCD Co., Ltd. in a patent infringement action related to LCD televisions.

Currently, Phillips is a Principal at Fish & Richardson P.C., based in Washington, D.C. His career also includes an appearance as lead counsel in an untitled case while at Baker Botts. While Fish & Richardson actively engages in Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) proceedings, Phillips' public profiles do not explicitly detail specific IPR/PTAB experience for him.

Notable cases in his portfolio include representing LG Chem and Toray Industries in ITC Inv. 337-TA-1181 concerning lithium-ion battery cells, which settled favorably. He also represented LG Chem as a respondent in a similar ITC investigation (337-TA-1179), also settling favorably. Phillips has litigated for companies such as BorgWarner, Inc. regarding turbocharger components, and defended D-Link Systems Inc. in a patent infringement case. His contributions to legal literature include articles on strategic IP considerations of batteries and energy storage solutions, and he was cited in Law360 for an ITC judge's finding of infringement of an LG patent by Vizio and AmTran.

Phillips is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania (2000) and the District of Columbia (2001). He earned his J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School (2000), an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from North Carolina State University (1995), and a B.S. with distinction in Aerospace Engineering from Pennsylvania State University (1993).