Kirt O’Neill is a partner in the firm, where he oversees the intellectual property practice of the firm’s San Antonio, Texas office.

Mr. O’Neill is a registered patent attorney with an extensive litigation and trial practice focusing on patent and trademark infringement cases and other intellectual property disputes. Mr. O’Neill combines first-chair jury trial experience with significant technical knowledge, particularly in the areas of telecommunications systems, signal processing and electronics. Mr. O’Neill has also served as an expert witness on patent infringement and validity issues and patent claim construction. Representative engagements include—

• served as co-lead counsel for plaintiff in a software patent case against Microsoft, IBM and a host of other industry leaders in the data integration field in the Eastern District of Texas. Juxtacomm Technologies, Inc. v. Ascential Software Corp. et al., Civ. No. 02:07-CV-359-LED
• served as co-lead counsel for defendant in International Trade Commission action on patents covering Ethernet controllers. Two months prior to trial, the plaintiff dismissed all claims with prejudice and took nothing on its claims. In the Matter of Certain Network Controllers, Inv. No. 337-TA-531 (US ITC)
• led Akin Gump technical team defending Qualcomm in the Eastern District of Texas on 13 patents covering various aspects of next-generation CDMA cellular telephony. The case settled favorably to our client on the eve of trial. Ericsson Inc. et al. v. QUALCOMM Inc., Civ. No. 2-96-CV-183
• obtained summary judgment of patent invalidity for a major insurance company in the Eastern District of Missouri on business method patent covering bank-owned life insurance policy administration. Bancorp Services, LLC v. Hartford Life Insurance Co. et al., Civ. No. 4:00-CV-70
• obtained judgment as a matter of law for a major retailer after a jury trial in a declaratory judgment trademark infringement case in the Western District of Texas. HEB Grocery Company, LP v. Texas Spice Company, Inc., Civ. No. SA-05-CA-1044-HLH
• obtained summary judgment for a major entertainment company defending a $30 million breach-of-contract royalty claim in arbitration and related court actions. Judith Belushi Pisano and Daniel E. Aykroyd v. House of Blues Brands Corp. and HOB Entertainment, Inc. (private arbitration)
• served as expert witness in the Western District of Texas on behalf of accused infringer of patent covering nondestructive pipe testing using electroacoustical techniques. Gave expert reports and deposition testimony on issues of claim construction, non-infringement and prior art. Oilfield Equipment Marketing, Inc. v. New Tech Systems, Inc., Civ. No. MO-02-CA-183.

Mr. O’Neill also regularly assists clients with the development, licensing and enforcement of their intellectual property portfolios, with the goal of maximizing portfolio value outside the court system. Representative clients include—

• a global entertainment media and advertising company
• a Fortune 200 insurance and financial services company
• a publicly traded medical device manufacturer
• a supermarket chain among the nation’s 15 largest privately held companies
• an early-stage, high-growth biotech company in the AI field.

Mr. O’Neill has been voted one of the “Best Lawyers in San Antonio” by his peers and has taught courses on all aspects of intellectual property law as an adjunct faculty member at St. Mary’s School of Law in San Antonio. He is a past president of the San Antonio Intellectual Property Law Association and a frequent speaker on topics in intellectual property.

Prior to entering the legal field, Mr. O’Neill designed and developed communications systems, hardware and software at AT&T Bell Laboratories. Mr. O’Neill received his B.S.E.E. with high honors from Texas A&M University in 1985, where he was a President’s Endowed Scholar and a National Merit Scholar. Mr. O’Neill received his M.S.E.E. from Georgia Institute of Technology in 1986, where he was a Schlumberger Foundation Graduate Fellow.

Mr. O’Neill received his J.D., with honors, from the University of Texas in 1993, where he was an associate editor of the Texas Law Review.

Mr. O’Neill is admitted to practice in the U.S. courts of appeals for the Federal and 5th Circuits and the U.S. district courts for the Western, Eastern and Northern Districts of Texas and the Eastern District of Michigan.