Steven J. Rizzi

I'll research this attorney before drafting. Let me start with targeted searches.

Let me dig into the tracked cases and PTAB/appellate record.

Steven J. Rizzi — Patent Litigation Practice Summary

Focus areas. Rizzi is a New York–based patent litigator whose practice centers on semiconductor and software disputes, with secondary depth in pharmaceuticals and consumer/electronics technologies. Chambers USA (2026, Band 5, Intellectual Property: Patent–New York) describes him as handling "contentious patent work in the semiconductor and software spaces." His published case list spans semiconductors and semiconductor packaging, LEDs, data storage (magnetic and optical), wireless telephony and telecommunications, fiber optics, interactive/pay television and program guides, online gaming, sports equipment, financial products, and confectionery packaging. On the pharma side he has first-chaired Hatch-Waxman matters involving transdermal and hormonal therapies (Noven/Minivelle; Brisdelle; Faslodex; the Sebela and AstraZeneca matters). He is a former engineer (Cooper Union B.E.; Caltech M.S.), which is consistent with the hardware-heavy docket.

Side preference. The tracked record shows two plaintiff-side appearances and none for defendants — a patent-owner/NPE-leaning sample (the McKool Smith lead-counsel matter and Sentient Sensors, LLC v. Cypress Semiconductor Corp., D. Del.). That sample is small and not representative of the full practice: Rizzi's own public statements and firm biographies describe work "on both sides of the aisle," and his docket includes significant defense-side representation of technology operating companies, including Broadcom and VMware (in Netflix, Inc. v. Broadcom Inc. et al., N.D. Cal.), and prior ITC and district court work for Amkor, ASE, LSI, Marvell, and STATS ChipPAC. The most defensible characterization is a mixed plaintiff/defendant practice in which plaintiff-side patent-owner representation is the more visible recent component.

Firm context and notable matters. Rizzi is a Principal in McKool Smith's New York office (he moved there in 2021 from King & Spalding, which he joined in 2019 from Foley & Lardner; his McKool Smith move is documented in a PTAB order withdrawing prior K&S backup counsel in IPR2021-00180). Notable matters include serving as lead counsel for Robocast, Inc. in Robocast, Inc. v. Netflix, Inc. (D. Del., C.A. No. 22-305-JLH), where he defeated Netflix's attempt to depose him and obtain his litigation-funding-related communications — a February 2025 order (Magistrate Judge Christopher J. Burke) granted his motion to quash on those categories, while noting that his role "seems different than the role your typical outside patent litigation counsel might play." He has first-chaired five jury and bench patent trials since 2015, per his King & Spalding profile: ITC Inv. No. 337-TA-1010 (2017), Noven Pharmaceuticals v. Actavis Labs. UT (D. Del. 2017), In re Sebela Patent Litigation (D.N.J. 2016), AstraZeneca v. Sagent Pharmaceuticals (D.N.J. 2016), and Everlight Electronics v. Nichia (E.D. Mich. 2015). One caveat on the tracked Sentient Sensors matter: the Delaware docket materials I located list Eckert Seamans and Kaliko & Associates as plaintiff's counsel of record and Fish & Richardson for Cypress, so Rizzi's listed King & Spalding co-counsel role there is not independently corroborated by the filings I could retrieve. Related PTAB/Federal Circuit proceedings in that patent family went against the patent owner — the Board found claims obvious in IPR2023-00195 and the Federal Circuit summarily affirmed (No. 2025-1058, Apr. 10, 2026) — though Rizzi does not appear as counsel of record on that appeal.

PTAB/IPR experience. Yes — he appears regularly before the PTAB. Verified filings include IPR2021-00180 (Advanced Semiconductor Engineering v. Bell Semiconductor), where he was lead counsel for the petitioner; IPR2023-00081 (Netflix v. Robocast), where he acted for the patent owner; IPR2022-00249 (Booking Holdings v. Express Mobile), also patent owner side (the parties' joint motion to terminate followed a settlement); and PTAB work dating to the Foley & Lardner period (e.g., IPR2017-00558). His practice therefore includes both petitioning and patent-owner defense work.

Bar and education. Admitted in New York (1993); registered to practice before the USPTO and admitted to the Federal Circuit and Fifth Circuit, plus several district courts (S.D.N.Y., E.D.N.Y., E.D. Tex., E.D. Mich., D. Colo.). J.D., cum laude, NYU School of Law (1992); M.S., California Institute of Technology; B.E., Cooper Union.