Tung Nguyen

Tung Nguyen is a seasoned patent litigation Partner at Sidley Austin LLP, with over 25 years of experience in intellectual property law. His practice encompasses complex patent and trade secret litigation, as well as licensing and counseling. Nguyen represents clients in patent and trade secret disputes both offensively and defensively in federal courts and before the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC). He has been consistently recognized by The Best Lawyers in America® for Intellectual Property and Patent Litigation, including in its 2026 edition.

Nguyen's experience spans a diverse array of technologies, with a particular focus on solar cells and modules, as evidenced by his recent case work. His broader technology proficiencies also include telecommunications (cellular, Wi-Fi, UMTS, LTE), semiconductors, microprocessors, memory, computer graphics, video compression, user interfaces, displays, and medical devices. Prior to his legal career, Nguyen worked as an electrical engineer designing and integrating antenna control systems for satellite communications.

In a notable set of recent cases, Nguyen represented Runergy USA Inc. and Runergy Alabama Inc. in patent disputes involving Trina Solar Co. Ltd., primarily concerning TOPCon solar cell technology. While appearing on the plaintiff side for Runergy in Runergy USA Inc. v. Trina Solar Co. Ltd. and Runergy Alabama Inc. et al. v. Trina Solar Co. Ltd. challenging patents, he also defended Runergy in related district court litigation brought by Trina Solar. In April 2026, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) issued final written decisions invalidating all claims of Trina Solar's key TOPCon solar cell patents (US9722104B2 and US10230009B2) that were asserted against Runergy and Canadian Solar. These PTAB decisions effectively halted the related district court infringement actions, marking a significant victory for his clients.

Nguyen is also active in post-grant proceedings, handling inter partes reviews (IPRs) and ex parte reexaminations before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). His involvement in the successful IPRs against Trina Solar's patents for Runergy demonstrates his significant PTAB experience. He is also listed as backup counsel in other IPR proceedings.