Douglas F. Stewart

Doug Stewart chairs Bracewell’s IP litigation practice group. A registered patent attorney, he litigates patent and other intellectual property disputes in courts across the United States, including the Western and Eastern Districts of Texas, the District of Delaware, and the Northern and Central Districts of California. His litigation practice places particular emphasis on helping international technology companies address U.S. patent issues. He also represents companies in Section 337 actions before the International Trade Commission, appeals to the Federal Circuit, and contested proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board and the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.

Doug’s work spans patents, trademarks, trade secrets, copyrights and domain names, as well as technology counseling. The technologies involved in his practice include computer hardware and software, consumer electronics, image processing and LED technology, data transmission and encryption, telematics, mechanical devices, and chemical and pharmaceutical compounds. Outside contested matters, he advises clients on licensing and IP strategy, patent portfolio and prosecution management, technology agreements, patent royalty audits and related diligence.

Doug has also taught and spoken on patent law and litigation. For ten years, he was an adjunct professor at the University of Washington School of Law, teaching patent litigation in its Intellectual Property LLM program. He participated in the Summer Institute hosted by the university’s Center for Advanced Study and Research in Innovation Policy and continues to give guest lectures at the law school on patent litigation topics.

Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc.

• secured voluntary dismissal with prejudice and without any payment after four-year litigation over patents related to self-encrypting solid state and hard disc drives

Toshiba America Business Solutions, Inc.

• invalidated five patents related to facial recognition algorithms, digital marketing, and the capture and manipulation of digital images. Successfully argued and obtained affirmance of the judge’s order from the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals.

Big Fish Games

• over the course of three hard-fought cases, invalidated 11 patents asserted by three different entities. Included two appeals to the Federal Circuit.

HTC Corporation

• Obtained a complete victory for consumer electronics company HTC in a trademark infringement case in the Eastern District of Virginia on summary judgment days before trial was set to begin. Successfully argued and obtained affirmance of the judge’s order from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. Subsequently obtained a ruling entitling HTC to recover $1.5 million in fees based on the exceptional nature of the case.

• Seattle University School of Law, J.D., 2003, magna cum laude
• University of Washington, M.S., Chemistry (Analytical), 2000
• University of Florida, B.S., Chemistry, 1998, with honors

• U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
• Washington

Chambers USA

• Washington Intellectual Property, 2015 – 2026

IAM Patent 1000

• United States: Washington, 2012 – 2014, 2017 – 2026

Managing Intellectual Property IP STARS

• Patent Star (United States), 2024 – 2026
• Patent Star (Washington), 2024 – 2026

Best Lawyers in America®

• Litigation – Intellectual Property, 2016 – 2027
• Litigation – Patent, 2021 – 2025
• Seattle Lawyer of the Year, Litigation – Patent, 2021
• Seattle Lawyer of the Year, Litigation – Intellectual Property, 2020

Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America

• IP Litigation, including Patent, 2024 – 2027

Lawdragon 500 Leading Global IP Lawyers

• IP Litigation, Technology, Patent, 2025 – 2026

Super Lawyers

• Washington, 2013 – 2026
• Washington, Rising Star, 2007 – 2012

• Japan-America Society, Past Board of Directors
• Japan-America Society, Past Secretary
• King County Bar Association, IP Section, Past Chair, 2011 – 2012

• “Software patents survive Supreme Court’s Alice decision, but questions linger,” Westlaw Journal, Vol. 31, Issue 3, July 2014.
• CASRIP Transnational Intellectual Property Seminar, Dresden, Germany, March 2014; London, England, March 2013; Alicante, Spain, March 2011; Rome, Italy, March 2009; Tokyo, Japan, March 2007.
• “Challenging Patent Validity In The USPTO,” Waseda University School of Law, Tokyo, Japan, June 2012.
• “IP Protection in the Information Age,” Renmin University School of Law, Beijing, China, June 2012.