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Peter J. Ayers

Counsel

Austin

Peter Ayers is a trial and appellate lawyer who represents technology companies and innovators in high-stakes patent disputes across U.S. district courts, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. With more than 20 years of experience, he handles complex matters involving semiconductors, computer systems, telecommunications, cloud computing and digital media technologies.

Peter has first-chair experience in both trial and appellate proceedings and has led matters through all phases of litigation, including case strategy, claim construction, expert development, trial and appeal. He has been involved in some of the most consequential patent disputes in the country, including cases involving large patent portfolios, precedent-setting appellate issues and parallel district court and PTAB proceedings.

Before joining Orrick, Peter served as Senior Counsel in the Office of the Solicitor at the United States Patent and Trademark Office, where he represented the agency in federal courts and before the Federal Circuit. In that role, he acted as lead counsel in one of the most complex Section 145 trials in the agency’s history and advised on appellate strategy and agency intervention in PTAB-related appeals.

Earlier in his career, Peter was a principal at a leading trial boutique, where he built and tried patent cases nationwide and later founded and managed an Austin-based IP practice. He has represented both patent owners and accused infringers in high-value disputes, including matters involving software platforms, telecommunications infrastructure, digital signal processing and financial technology systems.

Peter’s notable experience includes:

  • Serving as lead trial counsel in a multi-week federal bench trial involving hundreds of patent applications
  • Arguing multiple appeals before the Federal Circuit, including in precedent-setting matters involving the America Invents Act
  • Representing clients in inter partes review proceedings and related appeals, securing favorable outcomes at both the PTAB and Federal Circuit
  • Defending and prosecuting large, multi-patent portfolio disputes in venues including the Eastern and Western Districts of Texas

Peter combines his litigation experience with deep technical knowledge. He holds a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Stanford University and began his career designing integrated circuits and microprocessor-based systems for companies including Hewlett-Packard and IBM. This background allows him to translate complex technologies into clear, persuasive arguments for judges and juries.

He is active in the patent bar and has held leadership roles in national and local organizations, including the American Intellectual Property Law Association and the Austin Intellectual Property Law Association.

    • Hyatt v. Vidal, 2024 WL 2208581, aff’d, 148 F.4th 1376 (Fed. Cir. 2025) (lead counsel for USPTO in prosecution laches trial)*
    • ContentNexus (fna Personalized Media Comm’ns) v. Stewart (Fed. Cir.) (lead counsel in appeal involving digital television technology)*
    • Click-to-Call Technologies v. Ingenio, 899 F.3d 1321 (Fed. Cir. 2018), rev’d, 590 US 45 (2020) (argued precedent setting case overturning USPTO interpretation of IPR statute)*
    • Fractus v. AT&T, No. 18-cv-135 (EDTX) (represented intervenor Cellmax in multi-patent case involving base station antennas)*
    • CF Crespe v. Silicon Labs., 705 Fed.Appx 1000 (Fed. Cir. 2017) (obtained judgment of invalidity for Silicon Labs on TV tuner patents)*

    * includes experience prior to joining Orrick