RYAN MORRIS, partner in the Supreme Court and Appellate group, has assisted clients in a broad range of cases involving difficult questions of constitutional, statutory and administrative law. His practice spans a variety of substantive areas, with particular emphasis on patent and intellectual property, environmental, constitutional, qui tam, and other commercial appeals. Ryan also has considerable experience challenging and defending agency action in the U.S. Courts of Appeals and U.S. District Courts. He has authored or co-authored briefs in the United States Supreme Court, the federal courts of appeals, and various state appellate courts, as well as critical motions and pleadings involving complex issues of law in federal and state trial courts.
Representative Supreme Court cases include:
- HollyFrontier Cheyenne Refining, LLC v. Renewable Fuels Association, No. 20-472 (S. Ct.) – successfully represented HollyFrontier in vacating 10th Circuit decision addressing the small refinery exemption under the Renewable Fuel Standard
- Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. v. Sandoz, Inc., 135 S. Ct. 831 (2015) – involving the question whether a district court’s factual finding in support of its construction of a patent claim term should be reviewed de novo, or for clear error
- Octane Fitness v. Icon Health & Fitness, 572 U.S. 545 (2014) – involving the “exceptional case” requirement in 35 U.S.C. § 285 and whether it requires that the losing party have both an objective and a subjective belief that the case lacked merit
- Burrage v. United States, 571 U.S. 204 (2013) – successfully represented petitioner in establishing that a defendant cannot be liable for a penalty enhancement under 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(C) unless such drug use is a “but-for cause” of the death or injury
- Maracich v. Spears, 570 U.S. 48 (2013) – successfully represented plaintiffs in a case involving the interpretation of the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act of 1994
- FCC v. Fox Television Stations, Inc., 567 U.S. 239 (2012) – successfully represented Fox Television Stations, Inc. in challenging the constitutionality of the FCC’s indecency regulation of broadcast television
- Florence v. Bd. Of Chosen Freeholders of the County of Burlington, 566 U.S. 318 (2011) – successfully represented Essex County Jail in a case concerning the constitutionality of strip searching inmates being admitted to county jails
Representative engagements in the federal courts of appeals include:
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Auris Health, Inc. v. Intuitive Surgical Operations, Inc., 32 F.4th 1154 (Fed. Cir. 2022) – successfully argued on behalf of Auris Health in challenge to Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s final written decision – voted “Patent Impact Case of the Year” at LMG Life Sciences Americas Awards 2022
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Boston Scientific Neuromodulation Corp. v. Nevro Corp., 2022 WL 714975 (Fed. Cir. Mar. 10, 2022) – successfully argued on behalf of Nevro Corp. in defending Patent Trial and Appeal Board determination that Boston Scientific’s patent claims are obvious
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Producers of Renewables for Integrity Trust and Transparency v. EPA, 2022 WL 538185 (10th Cir. 2022) – successfully argued on behalf of Intervenor in support of EPA’s remedial grant of Renewable Identification Numbers under the Renewable Fuel Standard
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Braemar Manufacturing, LLC v. The Scottcare Corp., __ Fed. App’x __, 2020 WL 3564687 (Fed. Cir. 2020) – argued in support of patentability of cardiac monitoring patent under 35 U.S.C. § 101
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Advanced Biofuels Association v. EPA, 782 Fed. App’x 1 (D.C. Cir. 2019) – successfully argued on behalf of Intervenor seeking dismissal of petition for review for lack of final agency action
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Producers of Renewables for Integrity Trust and Transparency v. EPA, 778 Fed. App’x 1 (D.C. Cir. 2019) – successfully argued on behalf of Intervenor in seeking partial dismissal and partial transfer of petition for review
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Prism Techs. LLC v. Sprint Spectrum L.P., dba Sprint PCS, 757 F. App’x 980 (Fed. Cir. Feb. 1, 2019) – successfully represented Sprint in vacating prior infringement judgment based on collateral estoppel and defending on appeal
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Parthenon Unified Memory Arch. v. HTC Corp., 745 F. App’x 160 (Fed. Cir. 2018) – successfully argued on behalf of HTC in defense of final written decision finding video and audio decompression patent unpatentable
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B.E. Technology, LLC v. Microsoft Corp., 657 F. App’x 982, 2016 WL 6803057 (Fed. Cir. 2016) – successfully represented Microsoft in defending two U.S. PTO’s inter partes reviews, finding claims unpatentable
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Motorola Mobility, LLC v. ITC, 737 F.3d 1345 (Fed. Cir. 2013) – successfully represented Microsoft in defending an ITC determination of no Section 337 violation
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Microsoft Corporation v. ITC, 731 F.3d 1354 (Fed. Cir. 2013) – successfully represented Microsoft in reversing in part ITC determination
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Rocky Mountain Farmers Union v. Corey, 730 F.3d 1070 (9th Cir. 2013) – dormant Commerce Clause challenge to California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard
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Portland Cement Ass’n v. EPA, 665 F.3d 177 (D.C. Cir. 2011) – part of team that represented the Portland Cement Association in successfully obtaining a remand of EPA’s National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants
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Micron Technology, Inc. v. Rambus Inc., 645 F.3d 1311 (Fed. Cir. 2011) – successfully represented Rambus in challenging a district court decision declaring Rambus’s patents unenforceable based on alleged spoliation
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Food Holdings Ltd. v. Bank of America Corp., No. 10-1021 (2d Cir. 2011) – part of a team that successfully represented Bank of America in securing summary affirmance of a lower court’s favorable decision on a breach of fiduciary duty claim
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United States v. Cinergy Corp., 623 F.3d 455 (7th Cir. 2010) – successfully represented Cinergy Corp. in reversing the judgment in an EPA enforcement action under the Clean Air Act