Kat Li, P.C.
Overview
Kat Li is an IP litigation partner in the Austin office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP. Her trial practice focuses on patent and technology litigation, and she has represented Fortune 500 companies in United States District Court, the International Trade Commission, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, and the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Kat has successfully managed and tried all phases of litigation from pre-filing investigation and inter partes review proceedings to post-trial briefing and appeals. She also has substantial experience managing global patent enforcement actions and maximizing the value of patent portfolios. She handles matters involving a variety of technologies, such as computer security, mobile devices, semiconductors, oil and gas, medical devices, and telecommunications.
Kat teaches Patent Advocacy at the University of Texas School of Law, and she is a member of Western District of Texas Judge Albright’s working group that advises on procedures for patent cases. Kat is the Founder and Past President of the Association of Former Law Clerks for the Eastern District of Texas and on the Board of the Association of Former Law Clerks and Technical Advisors of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
Kat has been honored as “Best Under 40” by the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) and the State Bar of Texas Asian Pacific Interest Section, as well as “One to Watch for Intellectual Property and Patent” by the Best Lawyers in America. In addition, Kat has been recognized as a Fellow of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) and the 2020 “Nation’s Best” by Lawyers of Color for demonstrating outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion. Kat also serves as a member of the Board of Texas Appleseed, which is dedicated to promoting social, economic, and racial justice for all Texans.
Experience
Representative Matters
Prior to joining Kirkland, Kat was involved in the following selected matters:
- Defended a major semiconductor manufacturer in multiple actions in the Western District of Texas, before the PTAB, and at the Federal Circuit regarding packaging technology. Secured a stipulation of non-infringement on issuance of a case dispositive claim construction in the Western District of Texas.
- Defended a major networking and telecommunications company at the International Trade Commission on semiconductor technology related to the design and manufacture of integrated circuits. Resolved with a multi-year global patent cross-license agreement.
- Represented a haptics company in multiple patent cases in the Northern District of California and Beijing and Shanghai regarding touch feedback technology. Coordinated global patent enforcement strategy resulting in a favorable worldwide settlement.
- Represented a patent holder in an infringement lawsuit in the Northern District of California regarding speech recognition, app downloading, location services, and push messaging technologies. Resulted in a confidential settlement on the eve of trial after jury selection and before opening statements.
- Represented an inventor in patent infringement cases regarding the LTE standard including frequency hopping and carrier aggregation in the Southern District of California. Settled favorably immediately before the pretrial conference.
- Defended a global manufacturer of engineered composite materials in design patent infringement lawsuits at the International Trade Commission and in Minnesota district court regarding quartz countertops. Entered in a highly confidential settlement agreement favorable to the defendant.
- Represented a major networking and telecommunications company in patent infringement disputes including at the International Trade Commission and in district court cases in the Eastern District of Texas on standard essential and implementation patents regarding cellular technology. Resulted in global patent licenses.
- Defended a leading oil field service company in a patent infringement suit in the Western District of Texas regarding geophysical software used to produce three-dimensional models of subterranean formations. Settled favorably for the defendant.
- Represented a major networking and telecommunications company in a patent infringement lawsuit regarding 802.11n wireless technology. Awarded damages by an Eastern District of Texas jury for the defendants’ infringement, which was partially affirmed by the Federal Circuit.
- Represented inventors in a patent infringement lawsuit against multiple defendants in the Northern District of Texas regarding digital content processing and uploading technology. Resolved by a settlement favorable to the patent holder from all defendants except one before trial. Awarded damages for the remaining defendant’s infringement of the patented technology by a jury, which was affirmed by the Federal Circuit.
Clerk & Government Experience
Honorable Arthur J. GajarsaUnited States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
Honorable Leonard E. DavisUnited States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
Prior Experience
More
Thought Leadership
Publications
Co-Author with Scott Hejny and James Quigley “Arthrex: the Supreme Court Preserves the PTAB System,” Licensing Executives Society (LES), June 28, 2021
Co-Author with James Quigley, “IPR Update," State Bar of Texas 33rd Annual Advanced Intellectual Property Law, February 7, 2020
Co-Author with James Quigley, "O2 Micro Issues at the Federal Circuit a Decade Later," State Bar of Texas 15th Annual Advanced Patent Litigation, July 18, 2019
Co-Author with David McCombs, “Preparing an IPR Petition and a Preliminary Order Response,” State Bar of Texas 30th Annual Course Advanced Intellectual Property Law, February 24, 2017
Speaking Engagements
Moderator, “Judges Panel,” Texas Intellectual Property Law Journal Symposium, Austin, Texas, March 4, 2022
Moderator, “Judicial Panel,” UT Law's 26th Annual Advanced Patent Law Institute, Austin, Texas, November 4, 2021
Panelist, "Supreme Court & Federal Circuit IP Year in Review,” Austin Intellectual Property Law Association, Virtual, July 21, 2021
Moderator, “Fireside Chat with the Honorable Alan D. Albright,” Austin, Texas, May 13, 2021
Moderator, ”Worldwide Patent Litigation Trends,” UT Law's 25th Annual Advanced Patent Law Institute, Virtual, November 6.2020
Moderator, “Gender & IP: Addressing the Gap,” Texas Intellectual Property Law Journal's 19th Annual Symposium, Austin, Texas, March 10, 2020
Panelist, "Global Trends in Enforcement," UT Law’s 24th Annual Advanced Patent Law Institute, Austin, Texas, October 30, 2019
Moderator, “Innovation and Key Asian Developments,” Federal Circuit Bar Association Bench & Bar Global Series Conference, Honolulu, Hawaii, October 3, 2019
Speaker, “Litigation Strategies for Post-Grant Proceedings,” American Bar Association Section of Intellectual Property's IP West Conference, San Antonio, Texas, September 23, 2019
Moderator, “International Issues: In-Bound Focus,” Eastern District of Texas Bench Bar Conference, Plano, Texas, August 22, 2019
Moderator, "Global Strategies for Patent Portfolio Enforcement,” Federal Circuit Bar Association Bench & Bar Global Series, Washington, D.C., April, 29, 2019
Panelist, "Supreme Court & Federal Circuit IP Year in Review,” Austin Intellectual Property Law Association, Austin, Texas, February 28, 2019
Speaker, “Venue in the U.S. after TC Heartland,” U.S.-China IP Forum, Beijing, China, December 5, 2018
Speaker, “Patent Enforcement in China,”Federal Circuit Bar Association Bench & Bar Global Series, Ottawa, Canada, October 12, 2018
Panelist; "2017 Federal Circuit and Supreme Court Year-in-Review," Austin Intellectual Property Law Association, Austin, Texas, February 28, 2018
Speaker, "Recent Developments in Attorney-Client Privilege in Patent Litigation," 22nd Annual Advanced Patent Law Institute, Austin, Texas, November 3, 2017
Speaker, “Patent Enforcement in China,” The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s China Intellectual Property Road Show, Indianapolis, Indiana, October 18, 2017
Speaker, “Remedies Available to Patent Holders in Infringement Actions in China and the U.S.,” Global Patent Enforcement to Maximize Portfolio Value Seminar, Dallas, Texas, October 18, 2017
Speaker, “U.S. 337 Investigation Technical Seminar,” Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) Officials of the People’s Republic of China, Washington, D.C., July 20, 2017
Speaker, “Intellectual Property Protection in the U.S.,” Seminars sponsored by the Beijing IP Office and Nanjing University, Beijing and Nanjing, China, June 6, 2017–June 10, 2017
Panelist, “The Intersection Between Hatch Waxman, PTAB, ITC & ED Texas. Using All The Tools in the Tool Box,” Eastern District of Texas Bench Bar Conference, Plano, Texas, October 16, 2016
Moderator, “A Round Table Discussion Regarding Best Practice in ED Texas,” Eastern District of Texas Bench Bar Conference, Plano, Texas, October 23, 2015
Moderator, “Cases in Federal Court. What’s Gone Right? What’s Gone Wrong?,” Eastern District of Texas Bench Bar Conference, Plano, Texas, October 24, 2014
Recognition
“500 X – The Next Generation,” Lawdragon, 2023
"Ones to Watch for Intellectual Property and Patent,” Best Lawyers in America, 2021–2022
“Women Worth Watching,” Diversity Journal, 2021
Fellow, The Leadership Council on Diversity (LCLD), 2021
“Nation’s Best,” Lawyers of Color, 2020
“Best Under 40,” Asian Pacific Interest Section, State Bar of Texas, 2020
"Rising Star," Texas Super Lawyers, 2016–2019
Memberships & Affiliations
Board of Directors, Texas Appleseed
Board of Directors, Association of Former Law Clerks & Technical Advisors, Federal Circuit Court of Appeals
Founder and Past President, Association of Former Law Clerks for the Eastern District of Texas
Leadership Advancement Program Fellow, National Asian Pacific American Bar Association
Council, State Bar of Texas Intellectual Property Law Section
Leadership Council, Austin Asian American Bar Association
Member, The Honorable Lee Yeakel Intellectual Property Inn of Court
Bench Bar Conference Planning Committee, Eastern District of Texas Bar Association
1L Mentor, University of Texas School of Law
Credentials
Admissions & Qualifications
- Texas
- Registered to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office
Courts
- United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
- United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas
- United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas
- United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
- United States District Court for the Western District of Texas
Languages
- English
- Mandarin
Education
- University of Texas at Austin School of LawJ.D.with Honors2009Editor-in-Chief, Texas Intellectual Property Law Journal
- Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyM.Eng., Materials Science and Engineering2006
- Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyS.B., Materials Science and Engineering2005