Steven Pollinger

Steven Pollinger is a Principal and the Managing Principal of McKool Smith's Austin office, bringing over 30 years of experience as a trial lawyer and registered patent attorney specializing in intellectual property litigation. His practice spans diverse technology areas, including software, electronics, medical devices, wireless charging, telecommunications (including 4G LTE and 5G standard-essential patents), memory technology, audio integrated circuits, and semiconductors. Holding a Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Mr. Pollinger is adept at handling technically complex disputes nationwide, both at trial and on appeal.

While his tracked appearances show one plaintiff-side engagement, Mr. Pollinger has a robust history representing patent owners and licensing companies, securing substantial verdicts and favorable settlements. He notably served as lead counsel for Mojo Mobility, achieving a $192 million patent infringement verdict against Samsung concerning wireless charging technology. He also played a key role in securing a $506 million patent infringement verdict for PanOptis against Apple related to 4G wireless technologies and a $145 million verdict for WiLAN against Apple. Other significant plaintiff-side successes include a favorable infringement verdict and injunction for National Instruments against MathWorks over LabVIEW® software, affirmed on appeal, and a jury award for Versata against SAP for enterprise software patents.

Mr. Pollinger has also represented defendants, leading the defense team for Medtronic in a case that settled favorably, and representing Nortel against Ciena in high-density telecommunications technology disputes which resulted in a favorable settlement. He has extensive experience with the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), having successfully opposed 16 out of 18 inter partes review (IPR) petitions filed by Samsung in the Mojo Mobility litigation. He is recognized among the top-performing attorneys representing patent owners in Patexia's PTAB Intelligence Report.

Mr. Pollinger earned his J.D., with High Honors, from the University of Washington School of Law in 1993, following an M.S. (1988) and B.S., summa cum laude (1987), both in Electrical Engineering from the University of Washington. He is admitted to practice in Texas, before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, among other district courts. He also served as a Judicial Clerk to the Honorable S. Jay Plager at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.