Thomas Edward Garten

I'll research this attorney before drafting.

Let me dig into his case history, ITC work, and prior firms.

Thomas Edward Garten — Covington & Burling LLP (San Francisco)

Focus. Garten's practice centers on patent infringement and trade-secret litigation on behalf of large technology companies, in both federal district court and Section 337 investigations at the U.S. International Trade Commission. His tracked matter is Netlist, Inc. v. Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. et al., and docket records place him on Samsung's defense team in the related Delaware declaratory-judgment action (Samsung Elecs. Co. v. Netlist, D. Del. 1:21-cv-01453), the parallel E.D. Tex. actions, and the related ITC proceeding (Inv. No. 337-TA-1472), where he supported Samsung's mandatory-stay motion under 28 U.S.C. § 1659. The subject matter is heavily semiconductor/memory (DRAM, JEDEC-compliant products) and standards-related; other appearances of record include Optis Wireless Technology v. Huawei (E.D. Tex.) and Ancora Technologies v. Samsung (W.D. Tex.). Covington's published bio describes his work as patent and trade-secret disputes for global technology companies, with emphasis on complex discovery, technical analysis, claim construction, and damages.

Side preference. He is a defense-side lawyer. The structured data show 0 plaintiff-side and 1 defendant-side appearance, and the broader record is consistent: he defends operating companies (Samsung, Huawei, and Samsung's customers) against NPE/PAE assertions. No plaintiff-side or patent-owner enforcement work appears in the sources reviewed.

Firm context. Garten is of counsel at Covington & Burling, based in the firm's San Francisco office (previously listed in Palo Alto). State Bar and directory records show no prior firm history; earlier employers were not verifiable from the sources available.

Notable matters and PTAB. The most significant tracked matter is the Netlist/Samsung dispute: in April 2023 an E.D. Tex. jury found Samsung willfully infringed five Netlist patents and awarded $303 million, a result followed by extensive post-trial and appellate proceedings; Garten also appears on the Samsung side of the Delaware declaratory-judgment case and the 2025–26 E.D. Tex./ITC round. He is listed as counsel in the related PTAB proceeding Samsung Elecs. Co. v. Netlist (PGR2025-00071), and a third-party ranking places him among the more active ITC respondent-side attorneys for 2020–2025, though the scope of his individual IPR/PGR practice is not fully documented in the sources reviewed.

Bar/education. Admitted to the State Bar of California in 2006; also admitted to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. B.A., University of California, San Diego (2000); J.D., Santa Clara University School of Law (2006).