Rodger D. Smith II

Rodger D. Smith II is a partner at Morris, Nichols, Arsht & Tunnell LLP with a practice focused on complex commercial and intellectual property litigation, with a particular emphasis on patent litigation. His experience covers a range of technologies, including pharmaceuticals (Hatch-Waxman ANDA cases), chemicals, medical devices, software, and consumer products. His representative matters include cases involving coatings for beverage containers, self-serve blenders, razor blades, and graphical user interfaces for irrigation equipment.

The single tracked case lists Mr. Smith representing a defendant, Trend Micro, as local counsel. However, his broader practice portfolio shows extensive experience representing both plaintiffs and defendants. He has represented patent holders in enforcement actions, such as The Gillette Company LLC v. Dollar Shave Club, Inc., and has also defended numerous operating companies against infringement claims, including Sony and The Dow Chemical Company. Clients he has represented include Purdue Pharma, DISH Network, and Bayer.

Mr. Smith has spent his career at Morris, Nichols, Arsht & Tunnell, where he is a long-time partner in the Intellectual Property Litigation Group and served as chair of the firm's executive committee from 2014 to 2017. One notable outcome includes obtaining a jury verdict, permanent injunction, and recall for f'real Foods, which was subsequently affirmed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. While his firm's website notes a practice that includes inter partes review (IPR) proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), specific cases listing Mr. Smith as lead counsel in PTAB proceedings are not prominent in public records.

Mr. Smith earned his J.D., magna cum laude, from New York University School of Law in 1993 and a B.S. in economics from the University of Pennsylvania. Following law school, he clerked for Judge W. Eugene Davis of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.