S. Benjamin Pleune

S. Benjamin Pleune is a partner in Alston & Bird's Intellectual Property Litigation Group, based in Charlotte, where he also serves as partner-in-charge of the office. His patent litigation practice spans a diverse range of technology areas, including bar code scanners, image sensors, pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, medical devices, Internet database and e-commerce services, and robotics. Pleune has experience representing clients on both the plaintiff and defendant sides of patent disputes, as demonstrated by his role as lead counsel for the defendant in IoT Innovations LLC v. Snap One, LLC and as counsel for the plaintiff in Nokia Of America Corp. v. Spada Innovations Inc.

His notable litigation experience includes representing Honeywell in multiple investigations before the International Trade Commission related to image and bar code readers, which culminated in a nine-figure settlement. He also secured two consecutive trial victories for Honeywell in a breach of contract suit, prevailing before both a North Carolina jury and in a subsequent bench trial.

Pleune possesses extensive experience in post-grant review proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), having appeared in over 100 such proceedings. He is recognized for representing both petitioners and patent owners in IPRs and co-authored a book on PTAB practice. His PTAB work includes representing Nokia Solutions and Networks US LLC in proceedings against Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. and acting as counsel for petitioners including Nokia of America Corp. in a current IPR against Pegasus Wireless Innovation LLC.

He earned his Juris Doctor in 2002 from the University of Illinois Chicago, John Marshall Law School. Pleune is admitted to practice in North Carolina and before the United States Patent & Trademark Office.