Kristin Whidby is a registered patent attorney focusing on intellectual property litigation, including the drafting of patent opinions, providing pre-litigation counseling, and engaging in patent litigation.  She has litigated matters throughout the country, including in California, Texas, New York, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., and before the Patent Trial and Appeals Board, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and the U.S. Supreme Court.  She has also litigated intellectual property issues in international arbitrations.  

She has expertise litigating a wide range of technologies, including pharmaceuticals, chemicals, biotechnology, nuclear technology, computer science, contact lenses, night vision, and various mechanical fields.  Her experience also includes federal trade secret and trademark litigation, as well as a wide range of other complex civil and commercial litigation matters.  

Prior to joining RHM, Kristin was counsel at a national law firm in Washington, D.C.  Kristin clerked for the Honorable Chief Judge Andrew Effron of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces from 2008-2009.  

Kristin is deeply committed to providing pro bono services, with a particular focus on helping victims of physical and sexual abuse.  She provides pro bono legal representation in custody and protection order disputes for survivors of domestic violence and at-risk children.  Because of this work, she was the 2019 recipient of the Florida Bar President’s Pro Bono Service Award for the Out-of-State Division and the 2023 recipient of the Jean Crowe Award from the Family Law Section of the American Bar Association. 

Admitted to Practice

• United States Supreme Court
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit 
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit 
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces
• U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
• U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
• U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
• U.S. Patent and Trademark Office 
• New York
• District of Columbia
• Florida
• Virginia

Professional Affiliations

• American Intellectual Property Law Association – Active member of AIPPI-US (Steering Committee and Nominations Committee member), Women in IP Law (Working Moms Subcommittee Chair), and Patent Litigation Committee.
• International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (AIPPI) – Active member of the Standing Committee on Enforcement.  Assisted in drafting US answers to Study Questions.  Co-Chair of the 2019 Study Question regarding damages for acts other than sales.

Publications

• State of the IP Union: Addressing the Hot Topics of Today for Tomorrow’s Business (CLE Paper for panel session at the AIPLA Annual Meeting; Oct. 28, 2016)
• No Bridge Over the Troubled Waters of Section 101, IPWatchdog, https://ipwatchdog.com/2016/06/29/no-bridge-troubled-waters-section-101/id=70330/ (June 29, 2016)
• The Rise of the “Super” Patent, Intellectual Property Magazine (May 2016)
• AIPLA supports en banc rehearing in Akamai v. Limelight on single entity infringement rule, IPWatchdog, https://ipwatchdog.com/2015/06/24/aipla-supports-en-banc-rehearing-in-akamai-limelight/id=59031/ (June 24, 2015)
• Brulotte Rule Upheld Despite Suspect Economic Rationale, Law360 (June 23, 2015)
• The Federal Circuit clarifies the Katz exception to the general rule requiring disclosure of algorithms for means-plus-function software claims, AIPPI Newsletter (June 2015)
• The Use of the Internet is Not Sufficient to Transform an Abstract Idea into Patent-Eligible Subject Matter under Current U.S. Law, AIPPI Newsletter (Dec. 2014)