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Clyde Findley is an experienced intellectual property attorney who brings a unique perspective to business disputes. Before going to law school, Clyde was a software engineer for 20 years. During that time, he held executive and ownership positions in several small engineering companies. From that broad base of technical and business experience, Clyde provides counseling and advice on a variety of technical, business, and management issues. He is just as comfortable in the courtroom as he is in a boardroom or a software lab.

As a litigator with business and IP law experience, Clyde’s litigation practice covers all aspects of business disputes, from pre-suit investigations through discovery, motions practice, settlement negotiation, trial, and appeal. Clyde’s intellectual property cases have involved a variety of computer-related technologies, including object linking and embedding, vehicle interface and control systems, variable data printing, network monitoring, digital music, and navigation. His business cases have covered a range of interesting disputes, in both federal and Virginia state courts.

On the transactional front, Clyde prepares and prosecutes patent applications, trademark applications, and copyright registrations. He also prepares many kinds of business agreements, including those relating to the protection of intellectual property rights, such as software licensing agreements and click-wrap licenses.

Clyde has authored patent opinions covering validity, enforceability, and infringement. His technical subject matter experience includes real-time control systems, games, combat simulators, telecommunications, language compilers and translators, database management systems, artificial intelligence, and business methods.

Clyde is fascinated by neuroscience and cognitive psychology, especially the mechanisms that underlie human reason, perception, persuasion, and belief. He loves learning about how humans think, and how to communicate complex ideas in ways that everyone can understand.

Clyde is a member of the West Springfield Rotary Club. He helps the Northern Virginia Pro Bono Law Center provide customized wills and medical powers of attorney to senior citizens; and he serves on the Board of Directors for Anti-Trafficking International, a non-profit organization that develops and delivers programs to raise awareness and train first responders about ways to identify and report human trafficking. On weekends, you can often find Clyde riding his Harley on the back roads of Virginia.

RECOGNITION AND CERTIFICATIONS

  • Listed in Virginia Super Lawyers, 2022-2023
  • Top Attorney, Arlington Magazine, 2019, 2021-2023
  • Listed in Virginia’s Legal Elite by Virginia Business Magazine, 2020, 2022 and 2023
  • Top Lawyer, Northern Virginia Magazine, 2021

SELECTED PATENT APPLICATIONS PROSECUTED

US 11,764,976System and Method for Secure Internet Communications
US 11,053,004Aerodynamic Drone
US 10,924,282System and Method for Measuring and Reporting IoT Boot Integrity
US 10,504,004Systems and Methods for Deep Model Translation Generation
US 10,317,320Automatic Re-Loading Air-Sampling and Pneumatic Transport System
US 10,261,980Method and System for Persisting Add-In Data in Documents
US 10,254,201Automatic Air-Sampling and Pneumatic Transport System with Ball-Filter Hopper and Integrated Sampling Method
US 10,159,133System for Distributing Low-Voltage DC Power to LED Luminaires
US 10,121,080Systems and Methods for Controlling the Recording, Storing and Transmitting of Video Surveillance Content
US 10,111,501Self-Binding Strap Device and Method for Using Same
US 9,990,687Systems and Methods for Fast and Repeatable Embedding of High-Dimensional Data Objects Using Deep Learning with Power Efficient GPU and FPGA-Based Processing Platforms
US 9,978,013Systems and Methods for Recognizing Objects in Radar Imagery
US 9,626,445Search Results Modulator
US 9,569,728Deriving Semantic Relationships Based on Empirical Organization of Content by Users
US 9,341,547Automatic Re-Loading Air-Sampling and Pneumatic Transport System
US 9,283,444Direct Contact Racquet
US 9,262,535Systems and Methods for Semantic Overlay for a Searchable Space
US 9,159,251Magnetic Fastener for Competitive Athletics
US 7,774,144System and Method for Identifying Complex Patterns of Amino Acids
US 6,381,345Method and Apparatus for Detecting Eye Location in an Image

RECENT REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS

(DISCLAIMER: THERE ARE A VARIETY OF FACTORS UNIQUE TO EACH CASE, AND THE CASE RESULTS STATED BELOW DO NOT GUARANTEE OR PREDICT A SIMILAR RESULT IN ANY FUTURE CASE UNDERTAKEN BY CLYDE E. FINDLEY OR BERENZWEIG LEONARD)

  • Caldwell & Assoc., LLC v. Christina Minton, Inc. (Va. Beach) Represented plaintiff CPA firm in a disputed business dissolution case; successfully obtained an agreed dismissal of all claims.
  • Kebet-Koulibaly v. Keri Shull Lesniak, et al. (Arlington Co.) Successfully represented a real estate developer defendant to obtain a dismissal of allegations.
  • NorthStar Aviation, LLC v. Alberto, (E.D. Va.) Represented defendant aviation contractor and former executive in lawsuit by former employer claiming over $71 million in damages alleging breach of fiduciary duty, common law conspiracy, fraud, statutory conspiracy, tortious interference with business relationships and expectancies, conversion, defamation per se, and unjust enrichment; motion to dismiss granted on four counts and successfully limited remaining claims.
  • TomTom, Inc. v. Adolph (Fed. Cir.) Represented patent owner in a multi-year patent infringement litigation at both the district court and appellate level involving technology to crowd-source the creation of digital maps; successfully appealed district court claim construction ruling, achieving complete reversal and remand.
  • Glasser v. Barboza, et al. (E.D. Va.) Represented defendant game manufacturer in patent infringement litigation; successfully obtained an order of dismissal based on improper venue.
  • Canon U.S.A., Inc. v. Kevin Collins (E.D. Va.) Obtained a stipulated dismissal of trade secret misappropriation allegations against a former employer.
  • Oracle America, Inc. v. Service Key, LLC (N.D. Cal.) Successfully defended small business against allegations of copyright infringement relating to Unix operating system software.
  • 602531 British Columbia, LTD v. Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC (D. NJ) Achieved voluntary dismissal with prejudice for defendant in a patent infringement suit involving automobile user interface software.
  • Automotive Technologies Int’l, Inc, v. Delphi Corp., et al. (E.D. Mich.) Represented defendant in patent infringement suit involving automotive air bag suppression technology; helped to secure summary judgment of invalidity against all asserted patents.
  • Quantum Systems Integrators, Inc. v. Sprint Nextel Corporation (E.D. Va.) Successfully defended large company in copyright infringement trial involving network monitoring software.
  • R. R. Donnelley v. Kodak (D. Del.) Represented defendant in patent infringement suit involving variable data printing software.
  • Hayes v. Penny & Giles (D. N.J.) Represented defendant in patent infringement suit involving endothermic heat sink in flight data recorders.
  • Curtiss-Wright v. Velan (W.D. Tex.) Represented plaintiff in patent infringement action involving industrial valves used to de-head coke drums during oil refining operations.
  • Leapfrog Enters., Inc. v. Fisher–Price, Inc. (D. Del.) Represented defendant in a patent infringement action involving children’s book-reading technology.
  • Research in Motion Ltd. v. Eastman Kodak Co. (N.D. Tex.) Supported counter-claim plaintiff in expert discovery portion of multi-firm patent infringement suit involving object linking and embedding software within Internet browsers.
  • Sightsound.com v. CDNow (W.D. Pa.) Represented plaintiff in patent infringement action involving sale of music in digital form over the Internet.

PRO BONO EXPERIENCE

  • Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now v. Lisa Dickerson (D. Md.). In a First Amend-ment litigation, achieved summary judgment ruling that the Maryland Transit Administration had improperly restricted the rights of individuals to engage in free speech activities on public property.
  • Northern Virginia Pro Bono Law Center. Provides customized wills and medical powers of attorney to disadvantaged senior citizens.

PRESENTATIONS AND PUBLICATIONS

  • Software Developers Can Relax, Findley, Decoding IP Blog, 2016.
  • Avoiding Software Patent Quicksand, Findley, Decoding IP Blog, 2015.
  • Patent FAQs: What Happens During the Patent Process? Findley, Decoding IP Blog, 2015.
  • Patent FAQs: How Much Does it Cost? Findley, Decoding IP Blog, 2014.
  • Patent FAQs: Why Do I Need a Patent Attorney? Findley, Decoding IP Blog, 2014.
  • USPTO Sees New Examination Policy through Alice’s Looking Glass, Findley, Decoding IP Blog, 2014.
  • Alice v. CLS Bank: Abstract Idea + Generic Computer = Sorry, No Patent, Findley, Decoding IP Blog, 2014.
  • Patent Infringement Gets Costly: Time To Pay Up For Filing An Unreasonable Case, Findley, Decoding IP Blog, 2014.
  • Hope for Software Patents, Findley, Decoding IP Blog, 2013.
  • Cost of Frivolous Cases, Findley, Decoding IP Blog, 2013.
  • Using Enablement to Award Patent Infringement Damages, Findley, Decoding IP Blog, 2013.
  • Unfair Competition and the ITC – Actions Before the International Trade Commission Under Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (2004 Edition) by Donald Knox Duvall; General Editors: Philip J. McCabe, John W. Bateman; Senior Co-Editor: Fred T. Grasso; Co-Editors: Clyde E. Findley, John B. McDaniel, Robert F. Vroom.
  • Getting Patently Offensive (analysis of recent high-dollar awards in patent cases), Brian S. Mudge and Clyde Findley, C|Net News.com, January 2004.
  • International Patent Licensing Issues and Concerns, William K. Wells and Clyde Findley, American Conference Institute conference on Licensing Intellectual Property, San Francisco, CA, Dec. 2003.
  • Festo – Who Decides Prosecution History Estoppel? Clyde E. Findley, Walter E. Hanley, Jr., Kenyon & Kenyon website Hot Topic (www.kenyon.com), March 2003.
  • Valuation Strategies For IP Assets, William K. Wells and Clyde Findley, Sept. 2001.
  • Stupidity — A View From One Skilled in the Art (a humorous discussion of the natural human reliance on incomplete information and artificial models of reality), The Docket: George Mason University School of Law Newspaper, August 16, 2001.
  • The Fiasco in Florida: A Legal Perspective (a short analysis of the Democratic litigation strategy during the 2000 Presidential Election protest in Florida), The Docket: George Mason University School of Law Newspaper, February 6, 2001.
  • Optimal Layouts for the San Diego Processing and Distribution Center, Feldman, Findley, Lu, Tsai; Report to the U.S. Postal Service, May 1994.
  • An Analysis of Material Handling and Mail Processing Equipment Configurations in USPS Processing & Distribution Centers, Feldman, Findley, Lu; Report to the U.S. Postal Service, July 1993.
  • An Analysis of the Postal Automated Staging and Retrieval System (PASRS) for the West Sacramento, California Mail Processing Center, Findley, Weller; Jet Poste 93 Conference on Postal Technology, The Technical Research Department of La Poste, Cité des Congrès, Nantes (France), June 14 – 16, 1993.
  • A 3-D Control and Simulation Analysis Tool For The United States Postal Service, Barbera, Lu, Fitzgerald, Findley; American Society of Mechanical Engineers Japan-USA Symposium, San Francisco, CA, July 13-15, 1992.
  • Methods of Mosaicking Multiple Videodisc Map Images, Findley, Brooks, Singer, Tepe; Perceptronics Technical Paper, 1988.
  • Local Geocoordinate Error Correction in Videodisc Mapping Systems, Findley, Singer, Brooks; Perceptronics Technical Paper, 1988.
  • Real-time Surrogate Travel using Videodisc Technology, Donelson, Findley; Videomagic Laboratories Technical Paper, 1984.
  • Videodisc Mapping Techniques, Johnston, Smoot, Findley; Perceptronics Technical Paper, 1983.
  • Multiple Air Combat Evaluation, Higginbotham, Glascow, Findley, et al.; Institute for Defense Analyses, 1981.

CLASSES AND SEMINARS

  • International Patent Licensing Issues and Concerns, American Conference Institute conference on Licensing Intellectual Property, 2003

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS

  • American Bar Association
  • American Intellectual Property Law Association
  • Association for Computing Machinery
  • Institute for Electronics and Electrical Engineers