Susan M. Morrison

Susan M. Morrison is a highly experienced patent trial lawyer and litigator, serving as a Managing Principal in Fish & Richardson's Wilmington, Delaware office. Her practice focuses extensively on Hatch-Waxman and life sciences litigation, representing branded pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device companies across a wide range of technologies, including topical ophthalmic medications, treatments for Hepatitis C, gene therapy, pesticides, herbicides, stents, CPAP devices, and ultrasound machines. Leveraging a background as a bench scientist in immunology and microbiology, she also litigates matters in diverse technology sectors, with a notable expertise in the advertising technology industry.

While her tracked case, Blackbird Tech LLC v. Garmin International, Inc. et al., involved defending an operating company, her broader practice includes representing both patent holders (plaintiffs) and petitioners (defendants) in high-stakes patent disputes. She has secured favorable outcomes for plaintiffs, including Markman rulings, preliminary injunctions, and judgments of infringement and validity in Hatch-Waxman cases.

Morrison has a strong record of success in significant patent cases. She was co-lead counsel in a trial that resulted in a $31 million jury verdict for plaintiffs Wasica and BlueArc in litigation concerning tire pressure monitoring systems. For client Allergan, she spent over ten years successfully defending patents for glaucoma drugs Combigan® and Lumigan® 0.01%, achieving Federal Circuit affirmances that blocked generic competition. She also secured a judgment of infringement and validity against Mylan at the Federal Circuit regarding patents for the skeletal muscle relaxant Amrix®.

She is actively involved in post-grant proceedings, including inter partes review (IPR), post-grant review (PGR), and re-examination proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). Morrison has represented both patent holders and petitioners in these proceedings, achieving favorable results at various stages, including successfully invalidating patents on behalf of petitioners.

Morrison earned her J.D., summa cum laude, from Temple University Beasley School of Law in 2005, and a B.S., with high honors, in Cellular Biology from Haverford College in 2001. She is admitted to practice in Delaware, before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Prior to joining Fish & Richardson, she clerked for the Honorable Kent A. Jordan on both the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.