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Peter P. Chen

Senior Counsel

Palo Alto +1 650 632 4720

  • About
  • Credentials
  • About

    Peter Chen is a senior counsel in Covington’s Palo Alto office specializing in intellectual property litigation, and is co-head of the firm’s Patent Office Trials group focusing on America Invents Act (AIA) trials before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Peter's experience as a former Lead Administrative Patent Judge at the PTAB enables him to provide strategic insights to both petitioners and patent owners, in high technology and life sciences arts, at institution and through final written decision. During 2019-21, Peter led Covington teams in successfully representing petitioners in achieving institution, including on NHK-Fintiv analyses, and patent owners in achieving denials of institution. He also led Covington teams representing petitioner clients who prevailed at final written decision with cancellation of all challenged claims, and patent owner clients who prevailed at final written decision with all challenged claims held patentable. He also regularly advises clients on PTAB strategy and policy issues.

    During 2015-2017, Peter was a Lead APJ and as a member of PTAB’s management team, he assisted three successive Chief Judges in formulating and executing PTAB policy involving AIA trial procedures and Board operations. He also supervised a team of APJs, and assisted the Regional Director in policy and operations matters for the USPTO’s West Coast Regional Office. Peter is among the only former Lead APJs in private practice, and provides clients with a uniquely valuable perspective from his experience in presiding over AIA trials and in devising PTAB policy.

    Prior to his service at the PTAB, Peter was a first-chair intellectual property litigator and partner at three international law firms, and also served as general counsel and intellectual property counsel in-house, at startup and publicly traded technology companies in Silicon Valley. He has litigated over 75 patent cases, 25 trade secrets misappropriation cases, and numerous cases involving copyrights, trademarks, and unfair competition, in federal and state courts and the International Trade Commission, for high technology and life sciences companies.

    Peter is a registered patent attorney and is a named co-inventor on two U.S. Patents Nos. 8,468,050 and 8,843,392.

    Areas of Expertise

  • Practices and Industries
  • Credentials
    Education
    • University of California, Davis School of Law, J.D., 1983
        • University of California, Davis Law Review, Executive Editor
    • Stanford University, B.S./M.S., 1980
        • with Honors
        • Biological Sciences
    Bar Admissions
    • California
    • U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
    Government Experience
    • U.S. Department of Commerce
    Accolades
    • San Francisco Bay Area Super Lawyers, Intellectual Property Litigation (2010-2013)
    • Best Lawyers in America (2010-2014)
    • Legal 500 US, Intellectual Property - Patent Litigation (2010) and Intellectual Property - Trade Secrets (2007)
    Memberships and Affiliations
    • Guest lecturer, Berkeley Law School, 2016-present
    Previous Experience
    • Cadence Design Systems, Vice President of Intellectual Property and Associate General Counsel
    • Linear Technology Corporation, General Counsel
    • Keen (later known as Ingenio), General Counsel and Secretary
    • Guest lecturer, Stanford Graduate School of Business, 1999–2015; Santa Clara University School of Law, 2004–2006
    • Lawyer Representative, Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference, 1998–2000
    • Member, N.D. Cal. CJRA Committee under Chief Judge Henderson, 1995–1997

    Areas of Expertise

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