LAWYER
Robert W. Ashbrook
Counsel | Philadelphia
Robert W. Ashbrook

Robert W. Ashbrook handles patent, trademark, trade secret, and non-compete litigation and disputes in federal and state courts, before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, and in the U.S. International Trade Commission. A registered patent attorney, Mr. Ashbrook counsels clients on patent validity and infringement and on the acquisition and management of their IP portfolios, including due diligence for the purchase and assertion of intellectual property. He also prepares and prosecutes patent applications.

With an engineering degree from M.I.T. and experience in integrated circuit wafer fabrication and packaging, Mr. Ashbrook is able to quickly assess those technologies. He is also familiar with the software, medical device, aviation, and construction industries.

Before law school, Mr. Ashbrook was both co-owner of a construction company and an engineer for a leading telecomm company. Mr. Ashbrook understands his clients' needs from business, technical, and legal perspectives.

Mr. Ashbrook is a licensed commercial airplane pilot, an elder in the Swarthmore Presbyterian Church, a volunteer for (and former director of) the Homeless Advocacy Project in Philadelphia, and a former professional ski instructor. He is also a fellow of the National Speleological Society, a trustee of the National Speleological Foundation, and the author of several cave-related books, most recently The Caves of Pennsylvania in the Eighteenth Century.

  • Won dismissal of an inter partes review ("IPR") petition that resulted in the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's first-ever precedential opinion in an IPR.
  • Obtained a judgment invalidating two key patents asserted against a large software-as-a-service company by a competitor in the Southern District of New York.
  • Following the first day of trial in the U.S. International Trade Commission, obtained an unconditional dismissal of all patent, trademark, and trade dress infringement claims brought against Anaheim Manufacturing Company by its principal competitor.
  • Obtained a US$13.5 million public settlement for a medical device company following a two week jury trial against a competitor who hired away the company’s product development director.
  • Helped win a large jury verdict on behalf of a semiconductor equipment manufacturer in patent litigation with a foreign competitor regarding wafer handling and processing equipment.
  • Won years of additional patent term adjustment by suing the Patent Office on behalf of a major branded pharmaceutical company and other clients.
  • Won dismissal of patent infringement and trade secret cases filed against one of the nation’s largest insurers concerning tax-planning business methods.
  • Brought an offensive action in the U.S. International Trade Commission against one of the world's largest computer manufacturers regarding an integrated circuit fabrication patent, leading to the manufacturer's willingness to accept global settlement of multiple lawsuits across several jurisdictions.
  • Filed a declaratory judgment suit and resolved accusations of infringement for a leading pharmaceutical clinical trial provider, clearing the way for sale of one of the client’s business units.
  • On behalf of a name-brand manufacturer, used patent litigation to quickly force a generic competitor to change its product formulations.
  • Avoided threatened litigation for a client who hired key employees away from a competitor, obtaining key concessions with a creative settlement agreement. 
  • Intellectual Property Roundtable Breakfast — ACC Greater Philadelphia Chapter, Dechert LLP (July 12, 2017)
  • IP Law Committee Roundtable Reception: Trade Secrets v. Patents — Presented by ACC Greater Philadelphia Delaware Valley with sponsorship by Dechert LLP, Philadelphia, PA (May 4, 2015)
  • A Cat Has Nine Lives . . . How Many Lives Does Your Patent Have Left? — American Intellectual Property Law Association Spring Meeting, Philadelphia, PA (May 16, 2014)
  • The America Invents Act: Changes, Timing and Implications — New York, NY (January 24, 2012)
  • Post-Issue Issues: Patent Expiration and False Marking — Philadelphia Bar Association Intellectual Property Committee, Philadelphia, PA (April 6, 2011)
  • The Patent Reform Act of 2010, Consequences of Enactment — Philadelphia Bar Association IP Committee, Philadelphia, PA (April 7, 2010)
  • Bringham-Kanner Property Rights Conference — William & Mary Law School, Williamsburg, VA (October 28, 2005)
Services Industries
    • Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), B.S., Materials Science and Engineering, 1983, AMAX undergraduate thesis award
    • University of Pennsylvania Law School, J.D., 2002, cum laude, Order of the Coif, member of law review
      Intern for the Honorable Franklin S. Van Antwerpen, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
    • Pennsylvania
    • New Jersey
    • United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
    • United States District Court for the District of New Jersey
    • United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
    • Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
    • United States Patent and Trademark Office
    • United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
    • American Intellectual Property Law Association
    • Philadelphia Bar Association, IP Committee
    • Philadelphia IP Law Association