Steven G. Spears is partner-in-charge of the Houston office of the law firm McDermott Will & Emery LLP. Steven focuses his practice on patent and trade secret litigation and other technology-related litigation involving the chemical, biotechnology and petrochemical industries. He has participated in all aspects of patent litigation, including numerous jury trials and appeals before the Federal Circuit. In addition to litigation matters, Steven also counsels clients on intellectual property enforcement, freedom to operate and licensing issues.
Steven has litigated intellectual property cases in federal courts in Texas, California, Delaware, Missouri, North Carolina, Illinois, Indiana, Nebraska, Louisiana and Florida. He has represented clients in AAA arbitration proceedings and has been consulted on intellectual property-related actions brought in Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Australia, Argentina and the European Patent Office.
Steven received his J.D., cum laude, from the University of Texas School of Law and his B.A. in chemistry, cum laude, from Rice University. He is a member of the Houston Intellectual Property Law Association, the Houston Bar Association, the Federal Circuit Bar Association, the American Intellectual Property Law Association and the American Bar Association. Steven currently serves as chair of the amicus committee for the Houston Intellectual Property Lawyers Association and is a past officer and member of its board of directors. Steven was recognized in the 2010 and 2011 editions of The Best Lawyers in America as a leader in the field of intellectual property law. He was also named a "Rising Star" among Texas lawyers by Texas Monthly magazine from 2004 to 2007.
Steven is a member of the State Bar of Texas, and is registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Representative Experience
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Won judgment on the pleadings in a North Carolina action, defeating a false patent marking claim.
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Defended a business software company in a trade secret dispute in the District Court of Harris County, Texas, 55th Judicial District in 2008. The alleged trade secrets related to the design and marketing of profitability software products, and the plaintiff sought damages in excess of $96 million.
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Lead attorney in a Nebraska action contesting ownership and license rights to a family of patents related to herbicide resistant crops. The court granted summary judgment confirming the validity of his client’s exclusive patent license.
- Participated in a patent infringement jury trial in Missouri where the plaintiff sought damages in excess of $1 billion from his client. The jury returned a verdict that the asserted patents were invalid and not infringed. The court subsequently found that the patents had been procured by inequitable conduct and awarded his client its attorneys’ fees. The judgments were affirmed on appeal.
- Participated in a patent infringement jury trial in Delaware where his client was accused of infringing three patents related to insect resistant crops. Two patents were found not infringed and the third was found invalid. The judgment was affirmed on appeal.
- Participated in a bench trial in Louisiana in a patent infringement case related to an oil field device where the court found that the asserted patent was unenforceable for inequitable conduct. The judgment was affirmed on appeal.
- Won summary judgment in a Delaware action that licensor estoppel precluded a defendant from contesting the validity of asserted patents related to herbicide resistant crops.
- Won summary judgment in a California action that an asserted patent related to the design of insect-resistant genes for plants was invalid in view of his client’s prior invention.
- Participated in a patent infringement jury trial in Delaware where his client was accused of infringing two patents related to the design of insect-resistant genes for plants. The jury found that the patents were invalid in view of his client’s prior invention. The judgment was affirmed on appeal.
Education
- University of Texas School of Law, J.D. (cum laude), 1991
- Rice University, B.A. (cum laude), 1988
