Overview

Will Freeman is a business-minded lawyer who crafts efficient and targeted strategies for tackling his clients’ toughest patent disputes. He works closely with his clients to make sure they always have clear, realistic assessments of the risks they face. He is particularly passionate about medical device cases and enjoys seeing first-hand the life-changing benefits his clients’ inventions bring to the world.

Candid and to-the-point, Will takes a proactive approach to case management, working closely with clients to communicate issues clearly and resolve them early.

Will’s recent successes include a victory in a high-stakes five-patent ITC investigation for a leading medical device company. To achieve that victory, Will helped design and execute a multi-faceted defense strategy using aggressive arguments at the ITC and parallel challenges to the asserted patents in inter partes review proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. In other significant matters, Will has achieved victories at trial, at ITC hearings, before United States Customs and Border Protection, and with favorable settlements designed to meet his clients’ business needs.

Will is active in the American Intellectual Property Law Association, currently serving as the Chair of the AIPLA’s New Lawyers Committee.  From 2017–2021 he organized and led one of the AIPLA’s flagship programs, the Giles S. Rich Memorial Moot Court Competition.

In his pro bono practice, Will is working with the Office of the Federal Public Defender, Eastern District of Arkansas, to represent death row inmates in a dispute over the state’s method of execution. He has also represented clients in immigration court and has helped non-violent drug offenders in federal prison seek clemency through former President Obama’s clemency initiative.

Prior to joining Fish, Will was a judicial intern for the Honorable John Bryant of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, an intern for U.S. Representative Jim Cooper (Tennessee), and an intern at the Nashville Entrepreneur Center. An avid water skier, Will was captain and team president of the University of North Carolina Water Ski and Wakeboard Team.

Experience

U.S. District Court cases

Secured an early settlement on behalf of electronic payment processor in patent infringement case relating to coupon aggregation technology, in the Western District of Texas.

Bose Corp. v. Goldstein, No. 1:19-cv-11701-ADB (D. Mass) – secured a permanent injunction for Bose in this trade secret misappropriation case.

Plastipak Packaging, Inc. v. Niagara Bottling, LLC, No. 1:17-cv-01463 (E.D. Va.) – managed the claim construction process for plaintiff Plastipak in this patent infringement lawsuit relating to plastic bottles.

DataTern, Inc. v. MicroStrategy Inc. et al., C.A. Nos. 11-11970, 11-12220, (D. Mass.) – secured an exceptional case finding and award of attorneys’ fees under 35 U.S.C. § 285, after obtaining a pre-trial dismissal with prejudice on behalf of defendant MicroStrategy.

MSC.Software Corporation v. Altair Engineering, Inc. et al., No. 2:07-cv-12807 (E.D. Mich.) – represented defendant Altair during damages expert discovery in this long-running trade secret misappropriation lawsuit.

Smith & Nephew, Inc. and John O. Hayhurst, M.D. v. Arthrex, Inc., C.A. No. 3:08-cv-00714-MO (D. Or.) – secured a settlement shortly before trial on behalf of Smith & Nephew in a long-running patent infringement lawsuit related to arthroscopic shoulder surgery.

The Johns Hopkins University v. Alcon Laboratories, Inc. and Alcon Research, Ltd., C.A. No. 15-525-SLR (D. Del.) – secured a settlement shortly before trial on behalf of plaintiff Johns Hopkins University in a patent infringement lawsuit related to fundamental aspects of modern vitreoretinal surgery.

EveryScape, Inc. v. Adobe Systems, Inc., C.A. No. 10-11597-RGS (D. Mass.) – obtained a jury verdict of invalidity under 35 USC 102 (anticipation) and 35 USC 103 (obviousness) on behalf of Adobe in this patent infringement lawsuit involving photo editing technology.

International Trade Commission Section 337 investigations

Certain Semiconductor Devices, Wireless Infrastructure Equipment Containing the Same, and Components Thereof, 337-TA-1254 – represented Samsung in ITC investigation related to 5G cellular technology.

Certain Video Processing Devices, Components Thereof, and Digital Smart Televisions Containing the Same, Inv. No. 337-TA-1222 – represented Samsung in multi-Respondent ITC investigation related to adaptive bitrate streaming and digital rights management technology.

Certain Laparoscopic Surgical Staplers, Reload Cartridges, and Components Thereof, Inv. No. 337-TA-1167 – represented respondent Intuitive Surgical in this five-patent ITC investigation.

Certain Semiconductor Lithography Systems and Components Thereof, Inv. No. 337-TA-1137 – technical lead for one of three asserted patents; case settled favorably before the evidentiary hearing.

Certain Digital Cameras, Software, and Components Thereof, Inv. No. 337-TA-1059 – technical lead for one of five asserted patents; case settled favorably after favorable initial determination.

Professional associations

  • American Intellectual Property Law Association
    • Chair, New Lawyers Committee (2021 – Present)
    • Vice-Chair, New Lawyers Committee (2019 – 2021)
    • National Operations Director, Giles S. Rich Memorial Moot Court Competition (2019 – Present)
    • National Writing Director, Giles S. Rich Memorial Moot Court Competition (2017-2019)
  • Giles S. Rich American Inn of Court
  • International Trade Commission Trial Lawyers Association

Pro bono activities

  • Method of execution litigation
  • Kids in Need of Defense
  • President Obama’s Clemency Initiative