Katherine D. Cappaert

Steptoe LLP

Katherine D. Cappaert, Esq., leverages her legal experience, as well as her previous work as a mechanical engineer, to help clients navigate all aspects of intellectual property disputes. Kate is a hands-on litigator and takes an active role in each case that she works on, from developing case strategies, taking and defending fact and expert depositions, arguing motions before the court, and taking key witnesses at trial. Kate’s litigation experience extends across several venues, including experience with Section 337 investigations before the US International Trade Commission (ITC), patent validity challenges before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), patent litigation in district courts, and appeals before the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Based on her experience in these venues, Kate understands the nuances associated with each venue and the interplay between them, and is able to leverage this knowledge to help clients develop successful case strategies. For example, Kate recently represented a solar manufacturing company in achieving a successful case result in litigation spanning the ITC, PTAB, and the Northern District of California. Kate represents clients across a wide-range of technologies including solar manufacturing, seismic surveying operations, subsea oil exploration, semiconductors, consumer electronics and smartphones, fiber optics, cloud and distributed computing systems, and the automotive industry. She also speaks domestically, and has published articles, on patent litigation matters, including developments and best practices at the PTAB, and strategies that companies should consider when building and leveraging their IP portfolio. Before launching her legal career, Kate was a mechanical design engineer at a global document solutions and technology company.

 

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