Bryan P. Collins
Partner

Mr. Collins' experience and background is well suited to serving the IP litigation, counseling, prosecution and transactional needs of Pillsbury's clients. Since joining the firm, Mr. Collins has handled matters in a wide range of technologies, including medical devices, automotive systems, complex electromechanical systems, mining technology, and computer controlled processing systems. He has handled a variety of patent related matters, including litigation, reissue applications, reexamination proceedings, non-infringement/invalidity opinions, patent portfolio evaluations, and license drafting and negotiation. Mr. Collins also litigates trade secret and unfair competition matters. He has appeared in courts throughout the country in litigation matters as lead trial and appellate counsel.

The primary focus of Mr. Collins' practice is assisting clients in enforcing and defending their patents to strengthen their position in the marketplace. This includes both the development of patent portfolios by preparing and filing patent applications, as well as reviewing new products/processes to minimize patent infringement risks, defending infringement claims, and enforcing patents against infringers.

• Lead trial and appellate counsel for a major tool manufacturer in defense of highly successful demolition tools against design patent infringement and unfair competition claims. Case was tried in Arizona Federal Court and all five of the client’s products were found non-infringing. The management of this case limited discovery to specific issues, thus saving the client significant discovery costs. On appeal, the Federal Circuit affirmed in a precedential opinion on the role functional components play in design patent cases.
• Represented a global manufacturer to protect their pioneering invention for key safety innovation in the consumer products field. The technology has been widely copied by foreign manufacturers. Two lawsuits were filed on connection with this patent on the day after it issued, including one by an accused infringer. Parallel enforcement proceedings relating to the technology were filed abroad, including a successful public seizure of infringing goods at a trade show. The U.S. patent was challenged on reexamination and upheld based on presentation of extensive evidence rebutting “obviousness” challenge. Securing patent protection for this technology, coordinating enforcement proceedings in the US and abroad, and defending challenge to the patent provides client with a key tool to fend off its competition.
• Obtained summary judgment of non-infringement as lead counsel for a major tool manufacturer in patent case involving stud-finders and underlying software filed by direct competitor in the Northern District of California. Decision was obtained early in case to focus on single dispositive issue and limit discovery. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the lower court decision.
• Represented major Tier I auto parts supplier as lead counsel in patent litigation in the Eastern District of Virginia. Successfully settled the case after Markman briefing.
• Represented a global manufacturer in a major patent litigation win against one of its major competitors in the Eastern District of Virginia’s “Rocket Docket.” This was a crucial victory against one of the client’s major competitors, but also it was the first patent infringement case decided in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in KSR International v. Teleflex Inc. Under the Court’s new guidance in KSR, experts expected many patents to be invalidated as "obvious." The jury found the client’s two asserted patents valid. As to infringement, one was found infringed as a matter of law, and the other was construed so favorably that the defense conceded its infringement before trial.
• Represented client in complex breach of distributorship action involving trade secret, trademark unfair competition and breach of contract claims. Successfully defended plaintiff’s motion for preliminary injunction seeking to stop sales of client’s products, and settled case favorably after summary judgment briefings.
• Represented major food manufacturer as defendant in design patent litigation. Case settled on favorable terms at end of discovery after court allowed entry of antitrust counterclaim.
• Represented global manufacturer of shredders in district court litigation. After conducting a Markman hearing, the judge reversed a prior denial of summary judgment and entered judgment in favor of our client. The result also avoided the need for liability discovery, as the summary judgment was filed at the outset of the case and successful arguments were made to the court that the issue could be resolved as a matter of law without exposing the client to discovery costs. This case settled on appeal.
• Represented pro bono client in a Virginia state court appeal concerning 14th Amendment due process issues with regard to the enforcement of an out-of-state domestic relations orders. On appeal, the Virginia Court of Appeals held that the order was issued in violation of the client’s 14th Amendment due process rights and thus was void and could not be enforced.
• Successfully defended two third party reexamination requests filed on client’s core patents relating to insect trapping technology. The reexamination requests were filed by a defendant in related patent litigation and the reexamination resulted in the key claims being upheld. Also managed successful defense of an opposition filed by a separate party at the European Patent Office.
• Successfully represented medical products manufacturer in developing a patent portfolio protecting its core technology, and in enforcing that portfolio against a variety of infringers. The enforcement work has included representing the client in pre-litigation settlements, filed litigation and defense of the client’s core patent against a third party reexamination request.
• Represented well-known spa manufacturer in defense of allegations of trade secret misappropriation and trademark infringement in connection with spa controllers and associated software.

• Legal 500 US, Intellectual Property (2007-2009, 2011-2012)
• Burton Award for Excellence in Legal Writing, Recipient (2008)
• Managing Intellectual Property, IP Star (2013)

American Intellectual Property Law Association

U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Fourth and Federal Circuits, U.S. District Courts for the District of Columbia, Eastern and Western Districts of Virginia, Eastern District of Michigan and Eastern District of Texas

America Invents Act (AIA): One Year Later – Post Grant Proceedings & Strategies, panel speaker, George Washington University Law School Symposium on Intellectual Property, May 2013