Professionals

Kathi Vidal

Partner

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Kathi Vidal is one of the world’s foremost authorities in artificial intelligence and intellectual property law, with a distinguished career as a leading patent, trade secret, trademark, copyright, and anti-counterfeiting district court and ITC litigator and Federal Circuit advocate. A former Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), Kathi has shaped national innovation and AI policy and global IP, standard essential patent (SEP) and anti-counterfeiting strategy. Recognized by TechCrunch as one of the “remarkable women who’ve contributed to the AI revolution” and by Forbes as one of the top 50 women in innovation, Kathi has been ranked for over a decade in the top less than one-half of one percent of American litigators, was recently listed in the 100 Leading AI & Legal Tech Advisors, is a ChIPs Hall of Fame inductee and has been named a Tech Titan by Washingtonian. She is a Partner at Winston & Strawn, serving in both the Washington, D.C. and Silicon Valley offices, and sits on the firm’s Executive Committee.

Kathi is internationally recognized as one of the most influential people in IP, with notable experience in AI, next-generation semiconductors, and other critical and emerging technologies, international policy, patents and copyrights, including practice before the USPTO and Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), trademarks and counterfeiting, standardized technology and standard essential patent (SEP) policy, pharmaceuticals, life sciences, and healthcare policy, and privacy and competition law. In addition to leading and trying high-stakes and precedent-setting IP cases, Kathi also guides clients through complex issues at the intersection of technology, law, and policy, ensuring they maintain a leading edge in critical innovations. She also advises clients on AI issues, including at the point where IP and Privacy converge.

From April 2022 to December 2024, Kathi served as the U.S. Senate-confirmed Under Secretary of Commerce for IP and Director of the USPTO, leading the $4.2B operation with over 14,000 employees located across the 50 states and Puerto Rico—underpinning more than $8T in IP-intensive economic activity annually in the U.S. She was the principal advisor to the President, his administration, and the Secretary of Commerce on IP. During her tenure, she broadened the USPTO’s mission to focus proactively across the U.S. government and internationally on impactful innovation and entrepreneurship policy to accelerate U.S. innovation, bolster U.S competitiveness, and bring innovation to impact to solve community and world problems. She also led a multi-year-long effort to improve USPTO operations, dramatically reducing trademark pendency and setting the course for similar reductions for patents all while increasing the diversity of USPTO leadership by 5% in her last year alone. She worked with the PTAB to bolster the independence of PTAB judges and to make decision-making more certain and transparent for all. Through her leadership, the USPTO had unprecedented activities and accomplishments.

Prior to leading the USPTO, Kathi was the Managing Partner of Winston’s Silicon Valley Office. For over two decades, she represented both plaintiffs and defendants in U.S. federal district and appellate courts, the International Trade Commission, and at the USPTO, including before the PTAB. She advised clients—ranging from Fortune 10 companies to startups—on a wide range of IP matters, including participating in standard setting bodies and negotiating SEP policies, mocking Federal Circuit arguments, leading appellate teams for trials, conducting patent due diligence for transactional matters, analyzing patent portfolios, and devising strategies for worldwide patent disputes, including advising on national security, policy, and related issues. Kathi regularly prevails on behalf of her clients, including securing a market and obtaining a preliminary injunction, permanent injunctions, exclusion orders, a contempt finding, attorney fee awards, patent invalidations, and treble damages. She argued the seminal SAP v. InvestPic case on 35 U.S.C. § 101 (patent eligibility) at the Federal Circuit and set precedent by obtaining a district court decision permitting her to reopen a case to pierce the corporate veil to seek attorneys’ fees from the lawyers and principals under 35 U.S.C. § 285.

After starting college at age 16 as a mathematical physics major, Kathi began her career at General Electric (GE) Aerospace (later Lockheed Martin) as an electrical and systems engineer. She graduated from GE’s Edison Engineering Program and designed one of the first AI systems for aircraft (writing on it for her master’s thesis), as well as aircraft and engine-control systems that continue to keep our military safe today. Before joining Winston previously, Kathi chaired the litigation group—270 attorneys across 11 global offices—at another Am Law 100 firm, leading 60% of the firm while also serving on its management committee.

Kathi grew up in a military family and was the only member from her class on the base in the Azores (Portugal) to graduate from college. She is a competitive athlete across numerous sports, including crew, polo, volleyball, and marathoning. She is also an avid photographer and golfer, and she lives with her family and rescue dogs Oliver and Jack.

Key Matters

Kathi has first-chaired and led patent, trade secret, trademark, copyright, AI and tech litigations across a wide array of venues, including the International Trade Commission (ITC), the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the USPTO, and federal district courts in Arizona, California (all), Colorado, Delaware, Florida (M.D. Fl), Illinois (N.D. Ill.), Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York (N.D.N.Y. and S.D.N.Y.), Texas (E.D. Tex., N.D. Tex., and W.D. Tex., including Waco), Washington (W.D. Wash), and Wisconsin (W.D. Wis.). Kathi also works with a cross-functional team as Global AI counsel for leading companies. Her experience also includes international matters in China, Germany, and Korea, cross-border anti-counterfeiting enforcement, patent and trademark prosecution, PTAB and ex parte review actions, and trademark opposition proceedings before the USPTO. In addition, Kathi has represented numerous parties before the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation. She represents clients in a myriad of technologies from AI, hard core electrical and computer engineering, semiconductors, healthcare and medical devices, financial services including digital assets, blockchain, social media to sports and consumer goods.

Select examples of Kathi’s experience include:

AI: With Kathi’s expertise in AI technology, law and policy, she works across practice groups to fully advise companies on AI privacy, regulatory and governance issues.

Leading AI Companies: Represents some of the world’s leading AI. Represents one of the world’s leading AI companies in an FTC inquiry.

Trade Secret: Kathi represents both plaintiffs and defendants in trade secret actions, achieving for plaintiffs unprecedented early temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctions.

Leading LLM Developer (AI Company): Recently obtained a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to prevent use of trade secrets (entire code base) at competitor.

Leading Data Management and Cloud Storage Company (Trade Secret): Recently obtained a temporary restraining order to prevent use of trade secrets by a competitor.

Leading LLM Developer (AI Company): Recently obtained a temporary restraining order to prevent disclosure of trade secrets on the internet.

Leading Global Software Company: Representing leading global software company against allegations of trade secret misappropriation.

Brand Protection, Trademark & Anti-Counterfeiting: As Director of the USPTO and principal IP advisor to the President of the United States and the Administration, Kathi advised the President, U.S. government agencies, and Members of Congress on trademark policy, including the threat of counterfeit goods from China and other specific geographic regions. She engaged directly with the Chinese government to advance efforts to curtail counterfeit goods entering the United States. She led the USPTO's "Go For Real" public awareness campaign — conducted in partnership with the National Crime Prevention Council and McGruff the Crime Dog — to educate tweens, teens, and caregivers on how to spot and avoid counterfeit products, including through talk shows and multi-format public service announcements. She worked with online resellers and e-commerce platforms to develop and expand programs allowing rights holders to obtain takedowns of counterfeit product listings. She coordinated across government with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the International Trade Administration, the FDA, and the U.S. Copyright Office to stop infringing goods at the border and educate brand owners on enforcement tools available through CBP. In private practice, Kathi has developed particular depth in anti-counterfeiting enforcement — representing clients across industries against knock-off goods operations, including through litigation, border enforcement coordination, and government engagement.

Leading 3D Printing Company: Represents a leading 3D printing company against infringement by Chinese-backed entities, combining active litigation with a comprehensive cross-border enforcement strategy. Work includes coordinating with Members of Congress, U.S. Ambassadors, USPTO Intellectual Property Attachés, the Department of Commerce's International Trade Administration, and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to curtail knock-off goods at their source and across international markets.

Sheex v. BedGear, et. al.: Represented Sheex in a multi-defendant matter against companies infringing Sheex trademarks, trade dress, and patents through goods manufactured in China and imported into the United States. Successfully recovered market position for the client across all asserted IP rights.

Major Professional Sports Team: Advised a major professional sports team on trademark strategy in connection with its team name, including navigating the legal, brand, and public-facing dimensions of that counseling.

Leading Luxury Jeweler: Represented a luxury jeweler in a trademark and design patent dispute against a competitor involving competing designs and branding in the fine jewelry market. Developed and executed a strategic defense while positioning the client for an efficient resolution, ultimately negotiating a favorable settlement.

Leading Furniture Company: Representing a major furniture company in an active counterfeiting matter, working to protect the client's brand and market position against unauthorized reproduction of its products.

Patent: Kathi has litigated patent cases for decades, regularly obtaining early and successful results, obtaining hard-to-achieve preliminary injunctions, and creating positive case law.

Chamberlain v. Techtronic Industries: Secured a complete jury trial victory in 2017 for Chamberlain Group, in which the court found that competitors Ryobi and Techtronic Industries willfully infringed two of Chamberlain’s patents. Obtained a permanent injunction blocking the sale of Ryobi’s connected garage door openers and similar garage door openers.

Exafer Ltd. v Microsoft Corporation: Represented Microsoft in the initial stages of a patent-infringement matter involving computer network management technology, in which the plaintiff sought hundreds of millions of dollars in damages. After Kathi joined the government as director of the USPTO, the remaining Winston team achieved a rare win on summary judgment of no damages, which they believe to be the first and only instance of a patent defendant achieving a complete victory via summary judgment of no damages in the W.D. Tex.

SAP v. InvestPic (Fed. Cir. 2018): Secured a seminal § 101 win for software company SAP in a patent suit brought by InvestPic in the N.D. Tex. The Federal Circuit affirmed the win in an oft-cited opinion and upheld an award of attorney fees.

Cambria v. Cosentino: Retained by Cambria, America’s leading manufacturer of quartz countertops and other quartz surface products, to assert five patents covering innovative technology for manufacturing quartz slabs with full-thickness veins that rival the natural beauty of quarried marble and granite. Prevailed at claim construction and in obtaining a highly expedited case schedule in the W.D. Tex., Waco Division, leading to a settlement on terms that strongly favored our client.

Cambria Company LLC v. Hirsch Glass Corp. dba Spectrum Quartz: Defeated the institution of three separate inter partes review petitions on behalf of Cambria in patent litigation adverse to Spectrum Quartz. The Winston team was then successful in district court, winning summary judgment of infringement and validity for the asserted process claims and summary judgment of validity for all utility patents. Spectrum was forced to discontinue all accused products and processes.

ITC: Kathi has a regular docket of ITC cases, using the ITC to protect U.S. innovation and protecting companies against ITC actions

In the Matter of Certain Argon Plasma Coagulation System Probes, Their Components, and Other Argon Plasma Coagulation System Components for Use Therewith: Achieved a favorable settlement for our client, a global technology company, in a case involving therapeutic and diagnostic technologies where the complainant sought an exclusion order and a cease-and-desist order.

Copyright: Kathi consults on and litigates copyright cases on a myriad of technologies.

Schonbek: Successfully represented the world’s leading manufacturer of premium crystal lighting in a copyright case against a home improvement retail store selling knock-off lighting and chandeliers.

Kathi has received numerous accolades for her work and impressive accomplishments, including being named to the Forbes 50 over 50: Innovation list, being listed as one of Managing IP’s 50 most influential people in IP (globally) three years in a row, and being inducted into the Chiefs in Intellectual Property (ChIPs) Hall of Fame together with luminaries such as Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo, and Senator Mazie Hirono. She has also been listed as one of the top 50 Women in AI and has been featured in publications like Forbes, Fortune, TechCrunch, and many IP trade publications for her marked experience in AI and innovation policy. Kathi is also internationally recognized for her trademark and anti-counterfeiting work, including advising the U.S. government and major brands on enforcement strategy, cross-border enforcement against Chinese-origin knock-off goods, and consumer education campaigns. Under her leadership as the USPTO Director, the USPTO was named among the Top 50 Inspiring Workplaces in North America, the second-most inspiring workplace among government and nonprofit organizations in North America, and among the world’s Top 100 Inspiring Workplaces by the Inspiring Workplaces Group.

The following organizations have recognized Kathi for her work in private practice:

Patexia’s 2026 Litigation Report – ranked within the top 25 attorneys for patent litigation
Washingtonian 2025 Tech Titan List
The Best Lawyers in America^®– Patent Litigation
WIPR Influential Women in IP – the best and brightest women in the IP field
WIPR Leaders Guide – an outstanding IP practitioner
IAM Patent 1000: The World’s Leading Patent Professionals (referred to as “one of Winston’s top guns”)
IAM: 2026 Global Leaders
World IP Review – Top 100 Diversity
Managing IP – IP Stars Award
The Recorder – a Women Leader in Law and a California Trailblazer
Chambers USA – ranked attorney for Intellectual Property: Patent
Lawdragon – “500 Leading Global IP Lawyers,” “500 Leading Lawyers in America,” and “100 Leading AI & Legal Tech Advisors”
Northern California Super Lawyer
The Daily Journal – a California Top 100 Lawyer, one of 50 Leading IP Litigators in California, and one of California’s Top Women Litigators
Benchmark Litigation US – one of the Top 250 Women in Litigation and a California Litigation Star
San Francisco (magazine) – one of the Top Women Attorneys of Northern California
Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal – one of the “Forty under Forty People to Watch” in Silicon Valley and a Woman of Influence in Silicon Valley
Managing IP – Top 250 Women in IP
The Legal 500 US for Patents: Litigation – a “Key Lawyer”
Legal Momentum – one of five Women of Achievement Honorees
San Francisco Business Times – one of the “Most Influential Women in the Bay Area” and thereafter referred to as “Forever Influential”
Who’s Who Legal list for Patents

Kathi is an active leader in the IP and technology law arena, focused on activities that have impact, including supporting the judiciary and efforts to expand innovation, entrepreneurship, and opportunity for those underrepresented in this area.

She is the founder and President of the Friends of the Innovation and Law Center supporting the Federal Circuit’s Center, was one of only a few law firm instructors teaching patent law to new Article III judges through the Federal Judicial Center and worked on a team drafting the rules and jury instructions for the Northern District of California. She founded the Next Gen Lawyers effort and has consulted with district court judges and the PTAB on their judicial next gen orders.

Kathi is an active champion of Journey to Lead alongside leading women—such as Mary Barry and Ginni Rometti—and founded the ChIPs USPTO chapter. Kathi is also an active participant in The Sedona Conference and The Leahy Institute and is a member of the American Association of Patent Judges and the Patent and Trademark Office Society.

Kathi has sat on numerous boards, including serving as a board member of SuperPhone (a tech startup), the Federal Circuit Bar Association, and the Women in Law Empowerment Forum (WILEF). She served as an advisory board member of ChIPs (women in policy, law, and technology), Cinequest (the Silicon Valley Film Festival), and the Berkeley Center for Law & Technology. In addition, she served on the Litigation Committee of the IPO.

She has mentored women from underdeveloped countries through the Fortune Most Powerful Women -- U.S. State Department’s mentorship program and has been recognized for such efforts in Fortune (which also published several of Kathi’s photographs related and unrelated to her mentorship).

Over a decade ago, Kathi was inducted as a Fellow in the Litigation Counsel of America (an honorary society for the top 0.5% of litigators). She also served as a Fellow to the Federal Circuit Bar Association and as an Adjunct Professor of Patent Law at Santa Clara University School of Law.

While serving as the USPTO Director alongside Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo, Kathi served as the Vice Chair of the Council for Inclusive Innovation (CI2), which created the first-ever National Strategy for Inclusive Innovation. She is also co-chair of the Economic Development Administration’s National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship (NACIE), playing a key role in creating the first National Entrepreneurship Strategy. She and Secretary Raimondo launched the Women’s Entrepreneurship (WE) initiative, and she founded Entrepreneurship Essentials for the Military Community. She also expanded patent and trademark resources in libraries nationwide and free legal services for patent applicants, increasing the participation by women and other underrepresented populations to unprecedented levels. She scaled up the USPTO’s childhood and K-12 education programming, introduced groundbreaking tools to identify IP and assist teachers, and made permanent the USPTO’s outreach efforts through the creation of the Office of Public Engagement. As Director, Kathi also led the USPTO’s trademark integrity and anti-counterfeiting efforts, including overseeing the "Go For Real" public awareness campaign with the National Crime Prevention Council and McGruff the Crime Dog, advising Congress and the Administration on counterfeit goods policy, engaging with the Chinese government on enforcement, working with online resellers to implement counterfeit takedown programs, and coordinating with U.S. Customs and Border Protection to strengthen border enforcement for rights holders. Recognizing the lack of diversity in the IP profession, Director Vidal expanded the patent bar, created a design patent bar, and expanded the criteria to practice before the PTAB.  

An internationally renowned litigator who has recently rejoined the outfit after serving as director of the USPTO, [Kathi Vidal] expertly leads high-stakes, precedent-setting IP cases and steers patrons through complex tech-law policy intersections, keeping them at the forefront of innovation.

IAM Patent 1000

Vidal is not just a leading trial lawyer, but a versatile solver of intricate business problems interwoven with interconnected patent, technology, antitrust, data, privacy and security threads.