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Stephanie O'Byrne

Stephanie O'Byrne

Of Counsel
About

Stephanie is a first-chair intellectual property litigator who frequently presents oral arguments at hearings and conducts examinations at trial. Her robust experience in the District of Delaware includes handling over 300 patent cases and previously serving as Hon. Sue L. Robinson’s permanent patent law clerk. She fuses her knowledge of the Delaware judges and court procedure with practical, business-oriented advice for navigating disputes. Most recently, Stephanie and her teams achieved two favorable jury verdicts in the District of Delaware. She focuses on cases involving pharmaceuticals, medical devices, biotechnology, and consumer products, and has experience across a wide array of technologies. 

Stephanie has distinctive Delaware experience with trademark infringement, Lanham Act, and coexistence agreement litigation – including through a successful jury verdict. Stephanie has also practiced in the Delaware Superior Court and has successfully briefed appeals to the Third Circuit.

Bar admissionsDelawareUnited States Patent and Trademark Office
CourtsUnited States District Court for the District of DelawareUnited States Court of Appeals for the Federal CircuitUnited States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

EXPERIENCE

RECENT CASES OF NOTE

  • Prolitec Inc. v. ScentAir Technologies, LLC, C.A. No. 20-984-WCB (January 2024). Stephanie partnered with an international law firm to try this case on behalf of ScentAir, which the jury found did not infringe Prolitec's patents in connection with its sale of the ScentBreeze™ commercial scenting device.
  • GOLO, LLC v. Goli Nutrition Inc. et al., C.A. No. 20-667-CFC (August 2023). On behalf of firm client Goli Nutrition, Stephanie and DLA Piper's trademark litigation team secured a jury verdict of no likelihood of confusion with GOLO's trademark.
Education
  • J.D., Rutgers University School of Law 2003
    Rutgers Law Journal, Associate Editor
  • B.S., Biochemistry/Molecular Biology, The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey 2000

Pro Bono

As the daughter of a Purple Heart medal recipient and family member to many others who have selflessly served and continue to serve, Stephanie has a strong connection to veterans' issues. In addition to assisting with the US Department of Veterans Affairs Legal Clinic for Veterans in Wilmington, Stephanie has taken up veterans' appeals at the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, and discharge upgrade applications through the National Veterans Legal Services Program (NVLSP). Most recently, she assisted a wartime Marine veteran with a discharge upgrade case currently pending before the Board for Correction of Naval Records.

Clerk Experience

In addition to her private practice experience, Stephanie formerly served as Hon. Sue L. Robinson's career patent law clerk from 2006-2012. During her tenure, Stephanie collaborated on all of Judge Robinson's patent cases, working on over 450 patent cases including 20 bench trials and 16 jury trials across multiple technology areas. Among the dozens of patent case opinions prepared for the District Court, Stephanie assisted with the drafting of the precedential opinion for the Federal Circuit in Haberman v. Gerber Products Company, 236 Fed. Appx. 592 (Fed. Cir. 2007), where Judge Robinson sat by designation. Stephanie also assisted the Court in developing procedures, model forms, and instructions when Judge Robinson served as Chief Judge of the District Court, and when the District faced several judicial vacancies.

Stephanie also worked on several notable trademark cases during her tenure with the court, including the Pernod Ricard USA, LLC v. Bacardi, U.S.A., LLC litigation over "Havana Club" rum, which was affirmed by the Third Circuit, 653 F.3d 241 (2011), and remains an often-cited circuit standard on false advertising and geographic origin claims under the Lanham Act.

Memberships And Affiliations

  • Accepted into and completed the Federal Circuit Bar Association Global Fellows Program, completing the program in Washington, DC and Munich, Germany between 2013-2014.
  • Selected into and completed the prestigious District of Delaware Federal Trial Practice Seminar, a multi-week trial instructional program held by the D.Del. judges, in 2013.
  • Contributed to Patent Litigation Best Practices for Sedona Working Group 10.
  • Active member of the Federal Bar Association, Delaware Chapter.

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