ProfessionalsChristopher Pepe
Tel: +1-202-381-5036
Fax: +1-202-403-3836
cpepe@paulweiss.com
Christopher Pepe is a partner in Paul, Weiss’s Washington, D.C., office and a member of the firm’s Patent Litigation practice. He has represented clients in disputes in district court, investigations before the U.S. International Trade Commission, inter partes review proceedings before the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, and appeals before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. He also has experience advising clients in patent-related due diligence matters.
Chris has experience in matters involving a wide variety of technologies, including pharmaceuticals, drug delivery devices, surgical instruments, wireless communications, messaging applications, gas turbines, e-vapor devices, thermal imaging, and chemical coating formulations. He has been involved in all aspects of case management and trial preparation, including claim construction, depositions, expert discovery and witness preparation and examination at trial.
Chris is currently recognized as a national “Rising Star” for patents by Managing Intellectual Property. In 2022, the National Law Journal honored him as one of just 24 “D.C. Rising Stars” based on his ability to “develop unique practice niches, secure wins for clients, cultivate robust books of business and demonstrate strong leadership qualities.” In 2024, Lawdragon named him to its “500 X – The Next Generation” list.
EXPERIENCE
Chris’s representative matters have included:
- A pharmaceutical company in competitor patent and antitrust litigation across the ITC, District Court, PTAB, and Federal Circuit regarding it’s blockbuster drug product, including defeating a competitor’s attempt to obtain an exclusion order at the ITC and invalidating the asserted patent in an IPR final written decision that was affirmed by the Federal Circuit;
- An e-vapor product manufacturer in multiple ITC investigations and related inter partes review proceedings involving electronic nicotine delivery systems.
- A pharmaceutical company in multiple BPCIA litigations relating to an eye treatment drug product.
- A spatial biology company in district court litigations involving patent, antitrust, and breach of contract claims relating to instruments and assays for analyzing cancerous tissue samples.
- A genetics testing company in district court patent litigation related to cancer monitoring tests.
- A medical device company in co-pending ITC, inter partes review proceedings, district court litigation and corresponding appeals concerning cutting-edge surgical stapling technology;
- An industrial manufacturing company in more than 30 inter partes review proceedings and 8 corresponding Federal Circuit appeals relating to gas turbine technology;
- A major tech and consumer products company in a case involving seven patents relating to messaging and wireless communications technology used in mobile devices; and
- A chemical company in a breach of contract litigation relating to ownership of patent applications regarding polymers and coating formulations.
Chris was a member of the American University Washington College of Law’s Administrative Law Review and Moot Court Honor Society. Prior to attending law school, Chris worked as a design engineer for an aircraft engine manufacturer, where he focused on assessing the thermodynamic performance of helicopter engines in development testing and developing methods of assessing the performance of engines installed on aircrafts.