Timothy D. St. Clair
Tim St. Clair limits his practice to intellectual property law, patents, trademarks, trade secrets and copyrights. Tim’s background is unique among IP practitioners: for more than 15 years, he first carried a full trial practice in general civil litigation, trying dozens of cases in the courtroom to verdict. His extensive litigation experience provides the foundation for his success in IP, which includes patent infringement and declaratory judgment litigation, trademark and copyright infringement litigation, and inter partes proceedings within the Patent and Trademark Office. Tim also prosecutes patent applications in a variety of technologies, as well as trademark and copyright registration applications, for both corporate and individual clients.
Tim favors organization and believes litigation benefits from it. Preparation is the key to litigation – study of the evidence, outlining of strategies, examinations, and arguments. Some disputes can only be resolved in the courtroom and an organized, goal-oriented approach has proven itself time and again to be the winning approach.
In addition to his professional activities, Tim is very involved in community affairs. He gladly devotes much time to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, for which he is the national chair of the Ride Leadership Committee, a national head coach of the Ride to Cure Diabetes program, and a member of the national Program, Development & Training Committee. He also serves on the Parks and Open Spaces Committee of the Greenville County Recreation District and on the board of directors of the Greenville Spinners Bicycle Club.
“Litigation can be compared to military warfare – the oldest form of conflict, with centuries of experience from which to draw, with terribly high stakes and therefore also with great motivation for success. Taking lessons from warfare, in litigation we are better positioned to prioritize between competing concerns, better equipped to deal with uncertainty, and more appreciative of tactical alternatives.”
Representative Matters
Patent Litigation
- Represented a multinational corporation that was accused of patent infringement. A settlement was quickly reached after early discovery revealed severe flaws in the plaintiffs’ case.
- Defended an innovative client accused of patent infringement. After two years of litigation, the plaintiff voluntarily dismissed the case to avoid risking the court’s rulings on our pending summary judgment motions.
- Represented a plaintiff against a patent infringer. Despite the defendants’ arguments of claim invalidity, we reached a favorable settlement.
Trademark Dispute
- Successfully defended a client accused of trademark infringement for using Google ad words that had been registered as federal trademarks. The case settled and the client was able to continue using the search terms.
- Defended a registrant against a challenger who was seeking the cancellation of our client’s federal registration. The matter successfully settled after three years of litigation.
Trademark Litigation
- Represented a client against a departing employee who took Web site data and passwords with him. Tim quickly began litigation, which was successful, and the data and passwords were recovered. Immediate litigation commenced, quick settlement reached – URL, site content, and passwords recovered.
Copyright Litigation
- Defended a company accused of copyright infringement. After extensive discovery, Tim reached a favorable settlement before trial.
Misappropriation of Identity
- Defended a client against a celebrity alleging misappropriation of identity in radio ads being run by Tim’s client. Tim quickly reached a settlement for nominal damages.