Sidney Calvin "Calvin" Capshaw, III

I'll research this attorney before drafting the summary.

Let me dig into the tracked case, PTAB activity, and firm history.

Sidney Calvin "Calvin" Capshaw, III — Capshaw DeRieux LLP (Gladewater/Longview, Tex.)

Specialty / focus. Capshaw's practice is concentrated in complex commercial and intellectual property litigation in the Eastern District of Texas, with patent infringement as the core. The one appearance in the tracked data — Fundamental Innovation Systems International LLC v. Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., No. 2:17-cv-00145 (E.D. Tex.) — concerns USB battery-charging and power-management patents (the FISI portfolio acquired from BlackBerry), a hardware/standards-adjacent technology area. Broader public docket records show a wider technology spread: semiconductor and networking/communications patents (e.g., Rockstar Consortium/NetStar, Communication Technologies v. Samsung), software and internet-method patents, quantum-computing/HPC matters (ParTec AG v. Microsoft), consumer electronics, and at least one pharmaceutical/ANDA dispute (Allergan v. Sandoz, representing a consolidated defendant). Practice-area listings (Best Lawyers, Super Lawyers, firm site) describe him as an IP and patent litigator and commercial litigator.

Side preference. The authoritative tracked data shows a single appearance, on the plaintiff side, as lead local counsel. That single data point should not be over-read; publicly available docket histories show work for both patent owners and accused defendants over a long career — plaintiff-side representation for NPE-style patent holders (epicRealm, Beneficial Innovations, Personalized Media Communications, Landmark Technology) alongside defense work (Logitraq, Mobile Telecommunications Technologies, Lodsys campaign, Allergan). On the plaintiff side he characteristically serves as E.D. Tex. local counsel alongside national lead firms, which is consistent with the "lead local counsel" role designation.

Firm context. He is a founding member of Capshaw DeRieux, L.L.P., formed in 2008 with Elizabeth L. "Betty" DeRieux; the firm maintains offices in Gladewater and Longview, Texas, and is a small IP/commercial litigation boutique. Docket records from roughly 2010–2012 list him at Brown McCarroll's Longview office (email domain mailbmc.com) before the Capshaw DeRieux formation; one third-party aggregator also lists a Husch Blackwell affiliation, which I could not independently confirm and which likely reflects Brown McCarroll's later merger rather than a personal move — treat that as unverified.

Notable matters / outcomes. The flagship tracked matter is Fundamental Innovation Systems International LLC v. Samsung, where FISI asserted a family of USB charging/power-management patents; the court issued a lengthy claim construction order in January 2018 (Magistrate Judge Payne). Samsung petitioned for IPR on the patents (IPR2018-00425), which was instituted and reached a final written decision in July 2019; FISI also litigated parallel campaigns against LG, Huawei and Apple. I did not find a verified jury verdict or Federal Circuit decision in his tracked case, and secondary press reporting describes Samsung as having licensed the FISI technology rather than a litigated judgment — treat any outcome characterization beyond the claim construction and IPR record as unconfirmed. Other publicly docketed plaintiff-side engagements include Rockstar Consortium US LP/NetStar (the Nortel patent litigation, which settled in 2014), Communication Technologies v. Samsung (stayed in February 2023 pending IPR, terminated May 2025), Sable Networks v. Cloudflare, and ParTec v. Microsoft.

PTAB / IPR. I found no verified record of Capshaw serving as counsel of record in an instituted IPR or PGR. His name appears in PTAB filings largely as district-court counsel whose pleadings were submitted as exhibits, and the IPR proceedings in his cases (e.g., Samsung's IPR2018-00425, the Communication Technologies IPR) were filed by opposing parties. Absent better sourcing, he should not be described as a regular PTAB practitioner.

Bar / education. Admitted to the Texas bar in 1986 (State Bar No. 03783900); Baylor University (B.B.A. 1986) and Baylor University School of Law (J.D. 1986), per Best Lawyers and Super Lawyers profiles. Recognized in Best Lawyers since 2006 and Texas Super Lawyers 2007–2025.

Caveat: the tracked dataset contains only one appearance, so the side-preference and case-history observations above draw on public dockets and directory listings rather than a verified comprehensive litigation history.