John W. Harbin

Biography

John is a renowned trial attorney with three decades of experience in intellectual property and complex business cases, having tried more than 30 jury and bench trials in jurisdictions throughout the country, as well as at the ITC and in several arbitrations. John tries cases in a variety of technologies and industries. His experience in advocating for clients, even in the most challenging circumstances, has enabled him to craft innovative solutions to each client’s unique circumstances, with the most advantageous results. He has litigated patent, trade secret, licensing, copyright and trademark/trade dress disputes.

John is well-known throughout the U.S. as a formidable talent in the court room. He is a trusted advisor to clients from Fortune 100 to start-up companies.

Additionally, John has argued appeals before numerous appellate courts, including the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, the Georgia Supreme Court, the Florida Supreme Court, and the Georgia Court of Appeals.

John is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. Founded in 1950, the College is composed of the best of the trial bar from the United States and Canada. Fellowship in the College is extended by invitation only and only after careful investigation, to those experienced trial lawyers of diverse backgrounds, who have mastered the art of advocacy and whose professional careers have been marked by the highest standards of ethical conduct, professionalism, civility and collegiality. Lawyers must have a minimum of fifteen years trial experience before they can be considered for Fellowship.

John’s notable cases include:

• Defeating an infringement claim concerning mechanical patents at the ITC, with the Commission affirming the ALJ’s non-infringement finding.
• Defending a Fortune 100 aerospace and defense contracting company in a major trial alleging infringement of patents concerning aircraft cockpit display technology.
• Defending a startup company from a claim by a major pharmaceutical company that its medical device product infringed several patents.
• Representing a major consumer products company in patent infringement suits around the country, most involving mechanical engineering patents.
• Representing a national supplemental health insurance company claiming infringement of its copyrights in its supplemental health policies; case settled on favorable terms after a preliminary injunction was obtained enforcing the copyrights.
• Representing a major university in enforcing its intellectual property rights concerning an educational software product.
• Defending higher education institutions in a claim by several academic publishers that a university’s electronic reserve system caused or facilitated infringement.
• Representing a medical device manufacturer seeking injunctive relief against founders of the business who set up a competing business overseas, resulting in a favorable settlement.
• Representing a medical device manufacturer in a case that resolved the tension between Georgia’s open records and trade secret statutes, which resulted in amicus curiae briefs by Georgia’s biotechnology and biomedical associations and a favorable ruling by the Georgia Supreme Court.
• Representing the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences in successfully enjoining infringement of the Academy’s trademark in OSCAR™ and the Academy’s copyrights in the “Oscar”© statuette awarded for excellence in film-making.
• Representing a medical device manufacturer in evaluating and enforcing its portfolio of trademark rights nationally.

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