Kelsey I. Nix

Kelsey Nix represents and counsels clients in their most important patent, trade secret, copyright and trademark disputes. Kelsey co-leads Smith Anderson’s Intellectual Property Litigation practice. Clients describe him as a strategic and creative litigator who focuses on the end result.

Kelsey joined Smith Anderson after practicing with international law firms in New York City for three decades. He has been lead counsel in dozens of litigated cases in the federal courts nationwide and the International Trade Commission, as well as the U.S. Patent Office in a wide range of technologies, including medical devices, aviation and avionics, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, banking and trading platforms, encryption, e-commerce, microprocessors, telephony, security systems, modems and clean technologies such as LEDs.

Kelsey has counseled private equity, venture capital and hedge funds on strategic IP issues and has represented their portfolio companies in litigation. He is an experienced trial lawyer and negotiator with a history of protecting major product lines and driving favorable litigation and business results.

Education

• Duke University School of Law, J.D., 1987
• Columbia University, B.S., Mechanical Engineering, 1984
• Hendrix College, B.A., Physics, 1984

Bar & Court Admissions

• North Carolina Bar Association, Intellectual Property Law Section
• Executive Board, Columbia University Engineering Alumni Association
• Standards Setting Committee, Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO)
• Trade Secrets Committee, American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA)
• Editorial Board, Intellectual Property 360, 2015
• Editorial Board, AIPLA Quarterly Journal, 2012-2014

Prior to joining Smith Anderson, Kelsey was:

• Lead counsel for a major life sciences and clinical diagnostics manufacturer in successfully resolving parallel U.S. and European patent infringement actions, and related inter partes reviews in the U.S. Patent Office, against a competitor, enforcing client’s patents relating to fluorescence detection apparatuses useful in polymerase chain reaction (PCR).
• Lead counsel in successfully defending an international spirits manufacturer against patent infringement allegations in the ITC and in New York and Texas district courts.
• Lead counsel for a clinical diagnostics manufacturer in successfully resolving a U.S. patent infringement action against a competitor, enforcing client’s patent relating to temperature control reaction modules useful in polymerase chain reaction (PCR).
• Co-chair in an ITC investigation involving digital signal processors, successfully represented semiconductor manufacturer in defending against claims of patent infringement. Following a two-week trial, the judge found the asserted patent invalid, unenforceable for inequitable conduct, and not infringed. The Commission affirmed.
• A member of teams that successfully represented pharmaceutical manufacturer in multiple Hatch-Waxman patent infringement actions in the district courts, and inter partes reviews (IPRs) in the U.S. Patent and Trademark office, related to abbreviated new drug applications and new drug applications to the FDA seeking approval of generic versions of analgesic oral and patch dosage forms.
• Lead counsel in successfully representing a global leader in the development and manufacture of aviation flight simulators and pilot training programs in enforcing antitrust claims and defending against trade secret and copyright claims involving business jets.
• Lead counsel in obtaining complete defense victory on summary judgment in copyright and trademark infringement case concerning aviation maintenance manuals, Gulfstream v. Camp, 428 F.Supp.2d 1369 (S.D. Ga. 2006).