Litigation - Intellectual Property Litigation - Patent Patent Law
William P. "Bill" Atkins
Recognized in Best Lawyers since 2010 Awarded Practice Areas
Biography
Mr. Atkins is the leader of Pillsbury’s Intellectual Property Litigation team. He is a trial and appellate lawyer with 20 years of experience. He is a registered patent attorney who personally handles all of his cases and has won jury verdicts on both sides of the courtroom. Recent victories include (1) getting two university co-inventors added onto two NIH cancer drug patents with annual sales of approximately $2B, (2) an infringement jury verdict for a consumer product against a major competitor, and (3) a jury verdict for a client in defense of $200M+ patent infringement and related allegations. He takes pride in developing and obtaining the very best solution for each client's situation. Mr. Atkins has been lead counsel in nearly 100 intellectual property litigations and has extensive experience in patent, trademark, trade secret, Lanham Act, unfair competition and copyright matters. Over the course of his career, Mr. Atkins has been in trial and appellate courts, the International Trade Commission or ITC, arbitrations, mediations, and before the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Overview
- University of Baltimore, MBA, graduated 1992
- University of Baltimore, J.D., graduated 1992
- Virginia, Virginia State Bar
- Maryland, Maryland State Bar Association
- District of Columbia, The District of Columbia Bar
- Foundation of the Bar Association of D.C. - President
- Intellectual Property Owners - Member
- American Bar Association - Member, Past Chair of various committees in IP Law Section
- Bar Association of D.C. - President 2005-2006
- Virginia, Virginia State Bar
- Maryland, Maryland State Bar Association
- District of Columbia, The District of Columbia Bar
- Foundation of the Bar Association of D.C. - President
- Intellectual Property Owners - Member
- American Bar Association - Member, Past Chair of various committees in IP Law Section
- Bar Association of D.C. - President 2005-2006
- University of Baltimore, MBA, graduated 1992
- University of Baltimore, J.D., graduated 1992
Client Testimonials
Awards & Focus
Named "Lawyer of the Year" by Best Lawyers® for:
- Patent Law, Washington, D.C. (2023)
Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® 2026 for work in:
- Litigation - Intellectual Property
- Litigation - Patent
- Patent Law
Additional Areas of Practice:
- Antitrust Law
Special Focus:
- Antitrust
News & Media
Case History
Cases
- Proving University of Kansas inventorship of cancer drug Velcade
Winning a four year long case getting a University of Kansas professor and research assistant named as co-inventors on two NIH patents claiming the formulation for a multibillion dollar anticancer drug called Velcade. Opponents included NIH licensees Johnson & Johnson, Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Takeda Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd.
- Forcing An Opponent Patentholder to Pay Our Client's Attorneys Fees
Mr. Atkins won a three week jury trial for a Swedish client who was sued for over $200M for patent infringement and other related allegations and got it affirmed at the Federal Circuit. He then pursued, won, and collected attorneys fees and costs of over $1.2M. District Court's decision stated "Defendant's counsel could not have achieved a better result for their client," and that his trial team's "time records in this case . . . were all reasonable and reasonably necessary for [the Swedish company] to defend this case."
- Turning The Tables And Getting The Plaintiff/Patentholder To Be The Accused Infringer - Then Winning At Trial
A major Chinese competitor sued his U.S. client for patent infringement in D.C. Mr. Atkins convinced his client to countersue in the Eastern District of Virginia (known as the "Rocket Docket"). There, he won a three week jury trial for his client and also won a summary judgment of non-infringement in D.C. for his client.
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