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Dustin Weeks

is a Partner in the intellectual property practice group at Troutman Sanders. His practice spans all areas of intellectual property law, including patent prosecution, patent litigation (including Hatch-Waxman litigation), and client counseling. He represents clients ranging from start-ups and solo inventors to Fortune 500 companies. Dustin works closely with his clients to learn their business objectives so that he can tailor strategies to procure, protect, and enforce their intellectual property. Dustin specializes in post-grant proceedings (e.g. Inter Partes Reviews) before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) where he has extensive experience representing both patent owners and petitioners across a wide range of technologies, including wireless networking, pharmaceuticals, MEMs devices, medical devices, and electro-mechanical consumer devices. Dustin’s broad experience in patent prosecution, counseling, and patent litigation uniquely positions him to navigate the blended practice of post-grant proceedings.

For more information or to contact Dustin, please visit his Firm Profile Page.

Recent Articles by Dustin Weeks

Federal Circuit Affirms District Court Claim Construction in Foundation Pile Patent Infringement Dispute

The United States Court of Appeal for the Federal Circuit recently upheld the Central District of California’s ruling of summary judgment that certain accused products of Foundation Constructors, Inc. and Foundation Pile, Inc. (Foundation) do not infringe certain claims of U.S. Patent Nos. 7,914,236 (the ’236 patent) and 9,284,708 (the ’708 patent) (collectively, the patents-in-suit) after plaintiffs-appellants Steve Neville, Substructure Support, Inc., and TDP Support, Inc. (collectively, Substructure) appealed the district court’s ruling, as based on an improper claim construction. See Neville v. Found. Constructors, Inc., No. 2020-1132, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 27321 (Fed. Cir. Aug. 27, 2020) (Before Lourie, O’Malley, and Chen, Circuit Judges) (Opinion for the Court, Chen, Circuit Judge).

Federal Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Patent Infringement Complaint Under Res Judicata

The Federal Circuit recently affirmed a decision by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California dismissing a complaint for patent infringement on the grounds of res judicata. See Sowinski v. Cal. Air Res. Bd., No. 2019-1558, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 26616 (Fed. Cir. Aug. 21, 2020) (Before Newman, Lourie, and Schall, Circuit Judges) (Opinion for the Court, Newman, Circuit Judge). On November 24, 2015, Dr. Richard Sowinski, the owner of Patent No. 6,601,033 (the ’033 patent), sued the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and several individual and corporate defendants for infringement of the ’033 patent. After Dr. Sowinski failed to file a response to several motions to dismiss, the district court dismissed the complaint with prejudice and without leave to amend pursuant to Central District of California Local Rule 7–12. On appeal, the Federal Circuit affirmed the dismissal, concluding that the Central District of California had considered all of the relevant factors and that there was no clear error of judgment.