Jonathan Barbee

Jonathan Barbee is an accomplished and creative trial lawyer with a focus on intellectual property and technology-related litigation. He represents inventors, innovators, startups, and research institutions, both as plaintiffs and defendants. With a degree in electrical engineering, Mr. Barbee litigates complex patent, trade secrets, trademark, and copyright matters across an array of technologies and industries, including the high tech, medical devices, and pharmaceutical industries.

Mr. Barbee has extensive experience in all phases of litigation, including commencing suit, discovery, motion practice, expert witnesses, depositions, oral argument, and trial. He has litigated cases for his clients in numerous district courts, the Federal Circuit, the International Trade Commission, and the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.

Mr. Barbee regularly speaks on various intellectual property topics, including trade secrets, litigation funding, and effective intellectual property strategies for startups. Mr. Barbee is also an active member of the Executive Committee of the Corporate Counsel Section of the New York State Bar Association, the Trade Secret Committee of the New York Intellectual Property Law Association, and the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee of AUTM, the leading organization for university technology transfer professionals.

Prior to joining MoloLamken, Mr. Barbee was counsel at WilmerHale LLP. He also clerked for the Honorable Barbara S. Jones of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and the Honorable Joseph A. Greenaway, Jr. of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

Representative Matters 

Patents

• A website design company in asserting its patents in five related cases against large tech companies
• A university in a Federal Circuit appeal related to gene-editing technology
• A video streaming platform in two Federal Circuit appeals related to inter partes review proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board
• A video streaming platform in a Federal Circuit appeal related to Section 101 issues involving subject-matter eligibility
• A greenhouse company in patent litigation related to the design of climate cooling systems
• A government research organization in a successful three-week patent trial involving technology used to enrich canola oil with omega-3 fatty acids
• A telecommunications company in a successful patent trial involving cell phone billing technology
• A diagnostics company in patent infringement and breach of contract litigation involving a distribution agreement
• Two medical device companies in patent litigation involving diagnostic testing devices
• A razor blade manufacturer in patent litigation involving magnetic deposition technology
• A pharmaceutical company in patent litigation involving HIV drugs 

Trade Secrets

• An aeronautical engineering startup in trade secrets litigation involving the misappropriation of the startup’s business plan
• A solar startup and venture capital firm in trade secrets litigation with a competitor regarding solar panel manufacturing technology
• A leading solar company in trade secrets litigation with a competitor regarding a former employee
• A technology company in trade secrets litigation related to operating system design

Trademark

• A personal protective equipment company in trademark litigation against a competitor involving infringement and false designation of origin claims

Copyright

• A celebrity photographer in copyright litigation involving photographs held by a large media company

Other

• Ten individual plaintiffs in consumer protection litigation involving the Communications Decency Act (CDA)
• Non-governmental organizations in First Amendment litigation involving the receipt of government grants

Publications

• Casting a Worldwide Net: How Litigation Funders Can Leverage Europe’s New Unified Patent Court, Litigation Finance Journal (Mar. 14, 2023) (with Ben Quarmby)
• The Secret to Success with Trade Secrets – 5 Factors That Litigation Funders Should Consider When Evaluating Trade Secrets Cases, Litigation Finance Journal (Feb. 14, 2023) (with Ben Quarmby)
• Preparing for the New Wave of NFT Litigation, INSIDE (New York State Bar Association) (Feb. 8, 2023)
• How Innovators Can Combat Patent Infringement Using Litigation Funding, Bloomberg (Aug. 4, 2022)
• Innovation on the Cutting Edge of Ariad: Reinventing the Written Description Requirement, NYU Law Review (Dec. 2011)

Presentations

• Panelist, The UPC: Are You Ready for the June 1 Launch?, Woodsford (May 11, 2023)
• Speaker, UPC Podcast Series with Emily O’Neill featuring Ben Quarmby & Jonathan Barbee, Deminor (Feb. 1, 2023)
• Panelist, Emerging Issues in Patent Law, New York Intellectual Property Law Association (Nov. 9, 2022)
• Speaker, Fundamentals of Intellectual Property Lecture, Rutgers University (June 23, 2022)
• Panelist, 2022 IP Forecast for In-House Counsel, New York State Bar Association (Jan. 24, 2022)
• Panelist, 2021 Associate Leadership Institute Closing Ceremony, NYC Bar Office for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (Aug. 3, 2021)
• Panelist, Law Firms Are Businesses Too – How Your Firm’s Business Model and Finances Affect You, NYC Bar Office for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (May 19, 2021) 
• Panelist, The Growing Trend of Employee Mobility Litigation: How Former Employees Can Cost You Millions by Stealing Trade Secrets, New York State Bar Association (May 13, 2021)