Benjamin Cappel

Benjamin Cappel joined AddyHart P.C. in 2020 as counsel and became a partner in September 2020. Ben has extensive experience litigating matters in the semiconductor, information technology, pharmaceutical, social media, video-gaming, and cloud computing spaces. His experience includes district court litigation and trials at the USPTO’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), for inter partes reviews and for covered business method (CBM) reviews. He has also developed litigation plans for clients, and his experience includes establishing pre-litigation policies and procedures and working with e-discovery vendors and opposing counsel to develop e-discovery plans.

Ben formerly was Senior Counsel to the YMCA of the USA in Chicago, where he managed the organization’s intellectual property portfolio, obtaining, licensing, and enforcing its IP rights. During his tenure at the YMCA, he negotiated and structured agreements with professional sports leagues including the NBA and NFL, and was hired to guide and advise for a six-month period the organization’s incoming general counsel in managing intellectual property issues.

From 2016 to 2018, Ben practiced intellectual property law as an associate at Sughrue Mion PLLC in Washington D.C., where he successfully litigated Hatch-Waxman matters, including St. Regis Mohawk Tribe v. Mylan Pharmaceuticals, Inc.—the so-called Restasis case, which was named one of the ten most influential cases of 2018 by Law360.  Ben was a member of litigation teams working on matters involving several technologies, including biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, computer software, automobiles, machines for applying body art, and recreational pools and tubs. His experience also includes litigating trademark and copyright disputes at the USPTO’s Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB); litigating in the U.S. District Courts for a large software client; interviewing experts in advance of litigation including for Markman hearings; and helping prepare experts for testifying at trial. Ben also worked with joint defense groups to assist in managing complex matters.

Ben was formerly a Judicial Intern in U.S. District Court (D NJ) in Newark, where he assisted the Hon. Steven C. Mannion, U.S. Magistrate Judge, in managing his daily caseload, including composing legal memoranda including substantive analysis to prepare Judge Mannion for court. In 2014 he was a summer intern at Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox in Washington D.C., also receiving an offer from employment from that firm.

Ben earned his J.D. from the Seton Hall University School of Law and earned his B.A. cum laude from Rutgers – The State University of New Jersey. He works in our Chicago office.