Greg H. Gardella
Partner
Bar Membership Other Than Virginia
Tel (703) 413-3000

Greg H. Gardella

Partner

GREG H. GARDELLA is a partner in the firm's Post Grant Patent Practice Group focusing on post-grant patent proceedings, patent prosecution, strategic counseling, due diligence investigations, and pre-suit investigations. Mr. Gardella is a former litigator, having spent the first several years of his practice handling high-stakes patent litigation for various Fortune 100 clients. He leverages his extensive litigation background to focus on adversarial post grant USPTO proceedings. A distinguished reexamination specialist, he has handled a significant number of high-stakes patent reexamination disputes such as the noteworthy defense of the famous TiVo time warp patent and serving as lead counsel for St. Jude Medical in its post-grant challenges of Medtronic's renal denervation portfolio.

Mr. Gardella has been named by Intellectual Asset Management as one of the world’s leading patent practitioners.  Indeed, he was selected as one of the top attorneys in the country for adversarial post-grant proceedings:

Greg H Gardella is another prominent member of [Oblon Spivak’s] post-grant prosecution group. His former big-ticket patent litigation experience has served him well in contested reexamination proceedings, of which he is regarded a master.

The other honors received by Mr. Gardella can be found at the Accolades tab, above.

Prior to joining Oblon Spivak, Mr. Gardella was a partner at Irell & Manella, LLP.  While there he chaired the Reexamination Practice Group and oversaw the training of lawyers and patent agents related to Patent Office proceedings.

Mr. Gardella also develops and manages the patent portfolios of mid-sized and large technology-focused companies.  He has extensive experience in strategic enforcement and freedom-to-operate counseling wherein he advises companies how best to enforce their patent portfolios and take defensive measures to circumvent patent assertions by competitors.

Mr. Gardella has substantial education and experience in the following technical areas: semiconductor fabrication and device structure (e.g. vapor deposition, etch, patterning, spin-on coatings, implant, epitaxy, LEDs, power MOSFETs, solar cells, LCDs), computer architecture (e.g. superscalar uPs, graphics/memory controllers, I/O controllers, adapters, bridges, DMA, cache coherency, power management), wireless telecommunications (e.g. GSM, IS-95/54, GPRS and 3G standards, including WCDMA, CDMA-2000, and UMTS; security protocols; vocoding; bridging; duplexing), network data communication (e.g. Bluetooth and other wireless protocols, access control, routing, ATM, enterprise platforms, ASPs, VPNs), software ranging from microcode to application layer (e.g. middleware, OS, SSL, drivers, application layer suites, environments including C, C++, Java, XML, HTML, TEK, Perl, HDLs), medical devices (e.g. implantable devices, surgical devices, automated pharmacy systems, defibrillators, spinal implants, slow release implants, endoscopic devices), signal processing, embedded controllers, VLSI design, microstructured films, and various types of industrial equipment.

Mr. Gardella contributes to the firm’s Patents Post Grant Law Blog, providing insights and commentary on existing and proposed post-grant options, trends, practice tips and news relating to patent reexamination, reissue and the new post grant procedures introduced by the Leahy Smith America Invents Act.

Best Lawyers in America 2013, named among the best in Intellectual Property Law

U.S. News & World Report, Best Lawyers in America, named to its list of top intellectual property lawyers

IAM Patent 1000: The World’s Leading Patent Practitioners, named to Intellectual Asset Management Magazine’s list of the top 1000 patent attorneys in the world and selected as one of the top eighteen practitioners in the United States for post-grant proceedings

The Legal 500, recognized for his expertise in patent reexamination

Super Lawyers, named to its list of leading patent attorneys

News

Oblon Spivak Is By All Measures the Leading Post Grant Practice Group in 2012
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Post-Grant Proceedings Before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board
Friday, September 14, 2012
Seven Oblon Spivak Attorneys Named To Best Lawyers 2013
Friday, August 24, 2012

Publications

Post-Grant Proceedings Before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Cancellation of Patent Claims in an Interference After Those Claims Have Been Held Not Invalid in an Infringement Action
Monday, April 2, 2012

Events

Lessons Learned and Other Observations on the New Review Proceedings from Both Sides of the Bench
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
PTAB Review Proceedings - Lessons Learned and Other Observations from Both Sides of the Bench in the New Review Proceedings
Wednesday, May 1, 2013 - Friday, May 3, 2013
Meeting the New Requirements for Post-Grant and Inter Partes Reviews and Supplemental Examination
Thursday, August 2, 2012

Presentations and publications:

AIPLA Spring Meeting 2013, "PTAB Review Proceedings - Lessons Learned and Other Observations from Both Sides of the Bench in the New Review Proceedings” (May 2013)

Editor, single volume treatise entitled “Post Grant Proceedings Before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board,” to be published by Practicing Law Institute in late 2012

"Post Grant Proceedings Before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board,” Strafford CLE Webinar (August 2012)

Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO) Inter Partes Proceedings Committee, “Inter Partes Review and Post-Grant Review: New Regime and New Strategies” (April 2012)

Patent Law Institute (6th Annual), hosted by Practicing Law Institute, “Post Grant Review and Reexamination” (March 2012)

2012 National CLE Conference–Intellectual Property, “Strategies for Reexamination and the New Post Grant Proceedings” (January 2012)

“The New Patent Law,” speaker and panelist on the new first-to-file system (October 2011)

“Ex Parte and Inter Partes Reexamination Tactics,” Intellectual Property Owners Association (June 2011)

United States Patent and Trademark Office Roundtable Concerning Streamlining Patent  Reexamination, Panelist (June 2011)

"Patent Reexamination: Effective Strategy for Litigating Infringement Claims," Strafford CLE Webinar (May 2011)

"Managing Concurrent Patent Litigation and Reexamination,” USC IP Institute (March 2011)

“Ex Parte and Inter Partes Reexamination Tactics, "AIPLA's 2011 Mid-Winter Institute (February 2011)

"Patent Reexamination," California MCLE (2010)

"Patent Reexamination A New Shield,"  The Recorder (December 2010)

"Patent Reexamination: Strategic Considerations In Patent Litigation,"  The Intellectual Property Strategist (October 2010)

"Patent Reexamination: Best Practices for Pursuing and Defending Parallel Reexamination and Litigation," Strafford CLE Webinar (May 2010)

"Advanced Patent Prosecution: Hot Topics in 2010: Latest Developments in Inter Partes Reexam Practice and Case Law Update," Midwest IP Institute (2010).

"Patent Reexamination: The New Strategy for Litigating Infringement Claims," National CLE (October 2009).

"Inter Partes Reexamination, "Panel Discussion, Midwest IP Institute (2009).

"Reexamination: Tactical considerations and trends," Law Education Institute, Inc. (2009).

"Inter Partes and Ex Parte Reexamination: Recent Trends and Tactics," Minnesota CLE (2009).

"Patent Reexamination: Trends and Tactics," PLI's Third Annual Patent Law Institute (March 2009).

"Recent Developments in the Law of Inequitable Conduct: The Duty to Cite Co-Pending Applications," California CLE (2009).

"Inter Partes Reexamination: Tactics and Recent Trends," Law Education Institute's National CLE Conference (2009).

"United States Reexamination Procedures: Recent Trends, Strategies and Impact on Patent Practice," John Marshall Law Review (Vol. 8, Issue 3, Spring 2009).

"Post-KSR Drafting Tips,"Minnesota CLE (2008).

"The New Framework of Patent Exhaustion: The Supreme Court's Holding in Quanta Computer v. LG Electronics," Minnesota CLE (2008).

"Best Practices for Managing High Volume Patent Portfolios: Lessons Learned from the Battlefront," California CLE (2008).

"Post-KSR Decisions on Obviousness: Practical Implications for Patent Prosecution, Opinion and Enforcement Practice," Minnesota CLE (2008).

"In re Seagate: Implications for Opinion Practice and Freedom to Operate Analyses," Minnesota CLE (2007).

"USPTO Final Rule Changes for Continuations and Claims," Minnesota CLE (2007).

"The Newly Proposed Amendments to the Rules of  Practice Before the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences in Ex Parte Appeals," Minnesota CLE (2007).

"MIPLA Comments on the Proposed Appeals Rules and a Recap of the New Rules on Continuation Practice and Examination of Claims," Minnesota CLE (2007).

"The Newly Proposed Amendments to the Rules of Practice Before the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences in Ex Parte Appeals," Minnesota CLE (2007).

"Changes to Practice for Continuing Applications, Requests for Continued Examination Practice, and Applications Containing Patentably Indistinct Claims," Minnesota CLE (2007).

"The Patent Reform Act of 2007 and Update on the New Patent Rules Packages," Minnesota CLE (2007).

"The New Patent Office Rule Package on Continuation Practice," Minnesota CLE, moderator (2007).

"CEO's Guide to Patents,"  Twin Cities Business Journal Seminar, moderator (2007).

"The Supreme Court’s Decision in Medimmune v. Genentech: Declaratory Judgment Actions by Licensees," Minnesota CLE (2007).

"For Whom the Bell Trolls,"  Minnesota Lawyer Newspaper, In House Counsel section (2006).

"DSU Medical v. JMS Co. en banc: The New Standard for Inducement," Minnesota CLE (2006).

Author,Official Comments of the Minnesota Intellectual Property Law Association on the Proposed USPTO Rules on Information Disclosure Statements (September 2006).

Moderator," The USPTO's Proposed Rules on Information Disclosure Statements," Minnesota CLE (2006).

"Top Ten IP Mistakes Made by Start-Up Companies,"  Upsize Magazine (June 2006).

"Patent Peer Review Pilot and other Proposed Changes at the USPTO," Minnesota CLE (2006).

"Claim Construction in a Post-Phillips World," Minnesota CLE (2006).

Moderator, "The USPTO's Proposed Rules on Continuations and Examination," Minnesota CLE (2006).

"Proposed Amendments to the District of Minnesota’s Local Rules for Patent Cases," Minnesota CLE (2005).

"Symbol Technologies v. Lemelson: the Re-Birth of Prosecution Laches," Minnesota CLE (2005).

"Recent Amendments to Rules of Practice Governing Interferences," Minnesota CLE (2005).

"Patent Reform Proposals and Legislative Update,"Minnesota CLE (2005).

"Cooperative Research and Technology Enhancement (CREATE) Act of 2004," Minnesota CLE (2005).

"Prosecution of Business Method Patent Applications: Rules, Procedures and Tactics,"Minnesota CLE (2005).

"Keeping Your IP Options Open," IEEE Spectrum (2003), an article on patent prosecution strategies designed to maximize intellectual property protection while minimizing expense.

"How Not to Get Squeezed - Lessons to Learn from the Ongoing Patent Battle Over the Blackberry E-mail System," IEEE Spectrum (2003), an investigative article discussing patent prosecution and litigation tactics in the context of the NTP v. Research in Motion lawsuit.

"Patent Pitfalls for Programmable Devices," Patent Strategy & Management (2000), an analysis of an alternate theory of patent infringement for computer controlled, programmable devices.