Karthik Kumar, Ph.D., co-leader of the firm’s augmented reality/virtual reality (AR/VR) industry working group, focuses on complex patent litigation and strategic counseling related to emerging technologies. His litigation practice emphasizes competitor disputes before U.S. district courts and the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC). Karthik also manages the global patent portfolios of several multi-national technology companies.
Karthik represents clients in both offensive and defensive patent litigation at the trial and appellate levels, with a focus on disputes before the ITC, in federal district courts, before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), and at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. He has worked on more than 60 ITC investigations, district court cases, and inter partes review (IPR) proceedings. Karthik’s litigation experience covers numerous technology areas, including computer networking, consumer electronics, data storage and software solutions, financial services, jet engines, laser technologies, mobile applications, optical discs, optical fiber technologies, semiconductor assemblies, telecommunications, textiles, video gaming technologies, and wireless networks.
In his strategic counseling practice, Karthik focuses on emerging technologies, including AR/VR, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), blockchain, Internet-of-Things (IoT), and 5G technologies. He manages teams of attorneys and technical specialists to develop global patent portfolios for several multi-billion-dollar technology companies. In addition to overseeing the drafting and prosecution of hundreds of patent applications, he also advises on patentability, validity, infringement, and freedom-to-operate matters.
Karthik is a voting member of the Artificial Intelligence and Other Emerging Technologies Committee of the Intellectual Property Owners Association, a trade association for owners of patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets. Additionally, he serves as treasurer of the Giles S. Rich American Inn of Court, a non-profit organization dedicated to fostering professionalism, ethics, civility, and legal skills in intellectual property.
Before working in patent law, Karthik was a researcher at the University of Texas at Austin. His doctoral studies centered on plasma physics, quantum electronics, and optics, with a portfolio certification in nanoscience and nanotechnology. While at UT-Austin, he developed optical micro-endoscope technologies licensed to a startup company that was acquired for $25 million. He is a co-inventor of nine U.S. patents and has authored or coauthored numerous scientific articles in peer-reviewed publications.
