James Murphy is a seasoned legal strategist, having represented numerous clients in high-stakes patent disputes with repeated success. As a versatile advocate deeply engaged from the development of a client’s IP strategy through the managing of disputes where he assists in-house counsel and company executives protect market share and minimize exposure to risk. Navigating the intricacies of patent disputes is a complex and challenging journey, but Mr. Murphy is armed with extensive experience to fully understand the various pathways to resolution and help clients decide the best course of action.

Mr. Murphy is a nationally recognized PTAB counsel where he has been named lead counsel in over one hundred post-grant proceedings representing both Patent Owners and Petitioners. In addition, he has demonstrated his proficiency through his involvement in litigations across numerous Federal courts, including those with significant patent caseloads, such as Texas, California and Delaware.

With a unique background holding degrees in law, electrical engineering and business, Mr. Murphy brings unparalleled knowledge to protect, preserve and maximize your intellectual property rights. This enables him to understand complex technical materials and articulate effective legal arguments to drive the best commercial solution for his clients. Mr. Murphy's capacity to swiftly digest new technologies has impressed clients and earned him a prominent role in cases encompassing an extensive array of technological domains. These include semiconductors, artificial intelligence, clean energy, medical devices and automation.

Education

  • University of Oxford, Hertford College, U.K. (M.B.A., 2012)
    • South Texas College of Law (J.D., cum laude, 2006)
      • University of Texas at Austin (B.S., 2002)
        • Electrical Engineering

      Bar Admission

      • California, 2009
      • Texas, 2006
      • Admitted to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office, 2004

      Court Admissions

      • U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit, 2013

      Professional Affiliations

      • American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA)

      Recognition

      • Managing Intellectual Property, IP Stars – Patent Star, 2024-2025
      • Ranked in the top 1% of attorneys representing petitioners or patent owners by Patexia Inc.'s 2020 IPR Intelligence Report
      • Selected for inclusion in Managing Intellectual Property Magazine's list of “San Francisco IP Stars”  
      Publications
      All Publications
      USPTO Introduces New Pre-Order Procedure for Substantial New Question Determinations in Ex Parte Reexamination
      Key Takeaways The USPTO will allow patent owners to file a 30-page pre-order paper before the Office decides whether a reexamination request raises a substantial new question of patentability, effective for requests filed on or after April 5, 2026.  The procedure gives patent owners an earlier chance to influence the SNQ determination, while allowing requesters to respond under a broad standard. Patent owners should quickly assess whether a pre-order submission is warranted based on the patent’s importance and the strength of the request. Early coordination with counsel is critical to meet the deadline and prepare a focused response. The USPTO will now allow patent owners a limited, front-end opportunity to weigh in before the Office decides whether a reexamination request raises a substantial new
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      USPTO Expands PTAB Discretion to U.S. Manufacturing and Small Business
      Key Takeaways The USPTO has formally expanded its discretionary framework. As of March 11, the Director will consider U.S. manufacturing footprint and small business status when deciding whether to institute IPR and PGR proceedings, for cases where the patent owner’s discretionary brief deadline has not yet passed. The Director is now weighing domestic investment and supply chain footprint, a shift that embeds real-economy policy considerations into institution decisions and could influence close cases. Petitioners and patent owners alike should build an early evidentiary record on U.S. manufacturing activity and small business eligibility and integrate those facts into their overall discretionary narrative. USPTO Director John A. Squires issued a short policy memorandum on March 11 adding U.S. manufacturing footprint and small business status as explicit considerations in
      Read More