Robert Williams

Robert C. Williams is a patent litigation attorney at DLA Piper, concentrating his practice on patent disputes in Federal District Courts, the International Trade Commission (ITC), and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). His practice spans a wide range of technologies, including computer hardware and software, portable electronic devices, hard disk drives, file systems, printing systems, and wireless technologies. Williams' background includes a master's degree in Computer Science from Stanford University and prior experience as a software engineer, providing him with a strong technical foundation for his practice.

Williams primarily defends major technology and operating companies against patent infringement assertions. While the tracked case Google LLC v. Virtamove, Corp. shows a plaintiff-side appearance, his broader professional profile at DLA Piper highlights extensive experience representing defendants such as Microsoft, Samsung, Arlo Technologies, Sun, HP, and Qualcomm. In these roles, he has secured favorable settlements, summary judgments of invalidity, and determinations of no violation in ITC investigations.

His notable representations include securing favorable settlements for Microsoft in patent litigation involving touchscreen mobile devices and cloud-based graphics processing, and obtaining a summary judgment of invalidity for Arlo Technologies in an ITC investigation concerning video streaming. He also represented Samsung in patent litigation related to microprocessor technology, achieving a determination of no violation in the ITC and summary judgment of noninfringement in district court. The tracked case, Google LLC v. Virtamove, Corp., involves patent infringement claims related to containerization systems and methods and has notably progressed to the Supreme Court regarding the USPTO's "settled expectations" rule for inter partes review (IPR) proceedings. In this matter, Williams represents Google, which is challenging the denial of IPR institution.

Williams is also active in post-grant proceedings before the USPTO. His work on the Google LLC v. Virtamove, Corp. case demonstrates experience with IPRs, representing Google as a petitioner challenging patent validity. He is admitted to the State Bar of California and is a graduate of Columbia University School of Law (J.D., 2006).