Christopher V. Ryan

PRINCIPAL / SHAREHOLDER

Contact Info

Telephone: (512) 970-7331Email: chris.ryan@ryaniplaw.com
A seasoned technology lawyer who brings focus to all aspects of intellectual property law, Chris's practice emphasizes patent, copyright and trade secret matters. His work has generally focused on the tech sector, including semiconductor, software, and networking businesses.
Chris has litigated in federal and state courts across the country, before the International Trade Commission, and before the U.S. Patent and Trademark office.
Chris brings a business focus to his practice. He began his career as a management consultant with McKinsey & Company, where his focus was on business technology strategy and operations. He was a partner with Baker Botts LLP and Vinson & Elkins LLP prior to starting his own firm.

Publications

Patent Litigation Section of O'Connors Federal Intellectual Property Codes (2009-2024)Effective use of Experts in Litigation and at Trial--2-part CLE program, 3/2022. The Top-Down Formula for SEP Royalties - Online Webinar, 11/9/2020 Blurred Lines – The Impact of Oracle v. Google, The Advocate: State Bar Litigation Section Report—Intellectual Property Litigation, Vol. 86, Spring 2019 Mass Customization – Brought to you by 3-D printing, Law360 , 1/7/2015.4 Tips For Using Consumer Surveys in Patent Cases, Law360, 6/23/2014.

Admissions

State Bar of TexasAll Federal Districts in TexasFederal Circuit Court of AppealsU.S. Patent & Trademark Office

Education

University of Texas School of Law - J.D. with honorsRice Univeristy - Master of Electrical and Computer Engineering - B.A. Physics

Recognition

Recognized as a Top Rated Lawyer by Texas Super Lawyer rating since 2010 and as a Rising-Star (2010-2012)

  • Semiconductor

    Chris has represented integrated and fabless semiconductor businesses in both competitive and NPE litigation, in license negotiations, and in strategic portfolio assessment and development. We have experience in matters pertaining to processor and memory devices, semiconductor processing and process control, digital and analog circuits , interconnects, power management, and packaging.
    Representative matters include: Litigation and disputes (ITC) Represented a leading manufacturer of flash memory and storage products in litigation and in the PTAB in dispute involving embedded and removable storage technology. A parallel suit involving a superset of patents asserted before the ITC was stayed in the Central District of California. (D. Del) Represented a leading flash memory manufacturer in litigations involving memory products and semiconductor packaging technologies. (D.Del) Represented a leading manufacturer of flash memory and storage products in litigation before the District Court (D.N.H) Represented a leading silicon carbide manufacturer in competitive trade secret dispute involving processes for manufacturing large, high-purity SiC wafers suitable for power semiconductor manufacturing (M.D.Tenn) Represented a leading silicon carbide manufacturer in trade secret dispute involving process equipment (C.D.C.A.) - Represented a mixed-signal semiconductor manufacturer in a competitive patent litigaiton involving frequency generation circuitry and and tv-tuner circuitry (N.D.C.A.) Represented a leading manufacturer of flash memory and storage products in patent litigation involving memory devices, memory products, semiconductor process technologies, and device packaging. (N.D.C.A.) Represented leading semiconductor manufacturer in competitive case involving device-level interconnect, CMP, and system architecutre patents. (W.D.T.X.) Represented a wireless semiconductor company in a patent infringement suit involving the use of physically unclonable functions (D.Mass) - Represented a mixed-signal semiconductor manufacturer in a competitive patent litigation involving CMOS isolator circuits and associated signalling techniques. (E.D.T.X.) Represented a semiconductor manufacturer in a patent infringement suit involving PHY and Link layer interface in point-to-point inteconnects used with microprocessors. (E.D.T.X.) Represented a semiconductor maker in patent infringement litigaiton involving hardware-enabled graphics processing technology Licensing and Tech transfer Assisted a leading semicondcutor manufacturer in development and execution of licensing program Advised semiconductor companies on strategy for and participation in standards organizations and licensing pools associated with industry standards Advised fab-free semiconductor manufacturer on matters concerning patent pools, open-source licenses, and patent-exhaustion concerns. Represented a leading flash memory manufacturer in numerous competitive and NPE patent licensing programs Led numerous patent mining efforts involving portfolio assessment, prioritization, and reverse-engineering in support of competitive licensing programs

  • Software

    Chris has represented leading hardware and software companies in patent and copyright disputes, inbound and outbound licensing, and support of collaborative development and commercialization projects. He also represents businesses in other sectors with software and data rights issues.
    Representative matters include Litigation / Disputes (D.Del) Represented an online travel experience provider in a patent infringement lawsuit involving a Fortune 50 technology company in a patent infringement litigation involving user authentication, e-commerce, AI classification and and AI-enabled search technlogies (D.Del) Represented a leading online travel company in patent infringement litigations and in PTAB proceedings against a Fortune 50 technology company asserting patents directed to Internet enabling technologies data security, and search and retrieval technologies,. (N.D.C.A.) Represented a cloud computing company in litigation with a competitor and customer in a copyright infringement lawsuit. An important issue in the case involved the adequacy of software cleanroom development methods. (W.D.T.X.) Represented a provider of system recovery software in a copyright infringement litigation with a national retailer and services provider (W.D. VA) Represented a leading computer manufacturer in a patent infringement dispute involving the integrations of e-commerce and international shipping software (E.D.T.X.) Represented a leading telecommunications provider in a patent litigation involving user interfaces and toolbar plugin technologies. (E.D. T.X.) Represented a provider of system imaging and deployment software in a patent litigation involving the computer industry (E.D.T.X.) Represented a university and its licensee in a patent infringement dispute involving scalable search engine technology (E.D.T.X.) Represented a provider of medical imaging technology in case involving progressive image and JPEG-2000 technologies. (N.D.T.X.) Represented an application software vendor in a competitive litigation involving software copyrights and patents (N.D.I.L.) Represented a leading telecommunications provider in a suit involving systems used in prepaid telephone services (W.D.W.I) Represented a leading computer manufactuer in patent infringement dispute pertaining to docking station integration (ITC) Represented a semiconductor manufacturer in patent infringement dispute involving graphics processing technology. Licensing Advised a leading provider of laboratory automation systems in matters of software and data rights licensing Advised enterprise software company in IP issues pertaining to acquisitions, asset purchases, and accompanying diligence and software auditing Assisted a leading energy solutions provider in portfolio analysis and assessment. Represented a leading hardware manufacturer in negotiations pertaining to copy-protection protocols Assisted a leading telecommunications carrier in assessment of software patent portfolios Represented broadcast services businesses in assessment content distribution portfolios Represented enterprise software provider in in-bound and out-bound software licensing matters Advised numerous businesses on in-bound and outbound open-source licensing, compliance, and implications of contributor license agreements Represented power semiconductor manufacturer in enforcement actions and in managing complaince associated with participation in global standard setting bodies

  • Networking

    Chris has represented both providers and customers of networking products and and services in patent matters relating to networking technologies and industry standards.
    Representative matters include: Disputes and Litigation (D.Del) Reprsented a leading storage technology provider in a patent infringement suits involving embedded and removable bus interconnects (E.D.T.X.) Represented a semiconductor manufacturer in a patent infringement suit involving PHY and Link layer interface in point-to-point inteconnects used with microprocessors. (E.D.T.X.) Represetend a leading computer manufacturer in a suit involving expansion bus technology (E.D.T.X.) Represented a storage networking solutions provider in a competitive case involving SAN storage networks. (N.D.T.X) Represented a leading telecommunications provider in a patent infringement suit involving SONET network technologies. (S.D.N.Y.) Represented a leading computer manufacturer against a network technology provider in a suit involving the IEEE 1394 standard (N.D.G.A.) Represented a broadcasting services provider in a patent infringemetn litigation involving integration of Internet and broadcase media Licensing and acquisitions Advised a leading telecommunications company on matters involving licensing, patent purchases, and defensive patent strategies Represented patent purchaser in assessement of and selection of LTE portfolio Represented a leading telecommunications provider in search for and assessment of target portfolios in support of defensive licensing and possible countersuit Represented electronics manufacturer in defensive assessment of WiFi patent portfolios IP landscaping in risk assessments in matters involving emerging and established wireless networking standards