Team

Alex Chan is a Partner at Devlin Law Firm LLC. He was previously an associate at Fish & Richardson, P.C. and Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, LLP, among others.

Mr. Chan has extensive plaintiff and defense experience in patent, copyright, and trade secret litigation in U.S. federal courts, Patent Trial and Appeal Board, and the International Trade Commission. His practice involves a wide range of technologies, including semiconductor devices and fabrication, video and wireless standards, computer hardware and software, data and network encryption, optical communications, and medical devices.

• J.D., Franklin Pierce Law Center, 2010
• M.S., Electrical Engineering, Columbia University, 2002
• B.S., Electrical Engineering, University of California, Davis, 2001
• New York University, 1998

• California
• Texas
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
• U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
• U.S. District Court, Central District of California
• U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California
• U.S. District Court, Southern District of California
• U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Texas
• U.S. District Court, Western District of Texas
• U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas
• U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas
• Unites States Patent & Trademark Office (Reg. No. 52,713)

• Named to Los Angeles Business Journal’s 2023 “Leaders of Influence: Thriving in Their 40s” as an honoree who has “achieved outstanding professional successes and made significant contributions to the community.”
• Named to “Lawyers of Colors’ 2023 Hot List” by Lawyers of Color as an attorney who has demonstrated “a strong commitment to advancing diversity in the legal profession.”
• Named to “IAM Strategy 300 – The World’s Leading IP Strategists” by Intellectual Asset Management Magazine (2019-2023)
• Named an “Upstart50” by San Francisco Business Times and San Jose Business Journal as one of “the most inventive and successful people in the Bay Area’s entrepreneurial ecosystem” in 2018.
• Named in American Bar Association’s 2018 list of “On The Rise” Top 40 Lawyers.
• Named by American Lawyer Media and LegalWeek as “Highly Recommended” for the “Rising Star Innovation Award” in 2018.
• Named in The National Law Journal’s 2016 list of “Intellectual Property Trailblazers & Pioneers,” which highlights the top 50 intellectual property lawyers “who are raising the bar in intellectual property law.”
• Named a “Northern California Rising Star” in intellectual property litigation by Super Lawyers Magazine and San Francisco Magazine since 2016.
• Named in The Silicon Valley Business Journal’s 2016 list of 40 under 40.

• Board Member, Law360 Intellectual Property Editorial Advisory Board (2024-Present)
• Commissioner, The Blue Ribbon Commission on the Future of the Bar Exam, California State Bar (2021-Present)
• Vice Chair and Member, Committee of the Bar Examiners, The State Bar of California (2017–Present)
• Member, Differential Item Functioning Analysis Working Group, The State Bar of California (2020-2021)
• Member, Informal Working Group for the Administration of the California Bar Exam, The State Bar of California (2020-2021)
• Attorney Member, Testing Design Committee, National Conference of Bar Examiners (2020-2021)
• Co-Chair, Minority Trial Lawyer Committee, American Bar Association (2018-2020)
• Fellow, Law Practice Division, American Bar Association (2017–2019)
• Executive Member, Intellectual Property Law Section Executive Committee, California Lawyer Association (2016–2019)
• Co-Chair, Intellectual Property Section, American Bar Association — YLD (2016–2017)
• Board of Directors, Ars Minerva (a 501(c)(3) non-profit art-based organization) (2016–Present)
• Board Member, Board of Directors of The California Aggie Alumni Association (2017–2019)
• Board Member, Board of Directors of The Northern California Chapter of The Columbia Alumni Association (2017–2019)
• Programs Award Committee Member, American Inn of Court (2016–Present)
• Member, Patent Litigation Committee, American Bar Association (2010–Present)

• Alex Chan, Dissenting Opinion to “Blue Ribbon Commission on the Future of the Bar Exam Report and Recommendations,” March 7, 2023.
• Alex Chan, “Relevance Required to Discover Funding Agreements,” Section of Litigation News, American Bar Association, April 13, 2020.
• Alex Chan, “Common Issues to Consider when Arguing Before the Federal Circuit,” Section of Litigation News, American Bar Association, July 30, 2019.
• Alex Chan, “Everything You Need to Know About Foreign Patent Damages,” New Matter, Official Publication of the Intellectual Property Law Section of California Lawyers Association, Sept. 2018.
• Alex Chan, “WesternGeco: Patent Damages Know No Borders,” Daily Journal, Jun. 25, 2018.
• Alex Chan, “Foreign Patent Damages: A Look Back And A Look Ahead,” Law360, Jun. 24, 2018.
• Alex Chan, “A Look At The On-Sale Bar: Part 2—Best Business Practices,” Law360, Nov. 29, 2016.
• Alex Chan, “A Look At The On-Sale Bar: Part 1—The Helsinn Debate,” Law360, Nov. 28, 2016.
• Alex Chan, “Patent Venue Then and Now: Forum Shopping About to Change,” Law360, Jan. 21, 2016.
• Alex Chan, “An Overview, a Summary, and an Update to the Latest Patent Reform,” Intellectual Property & Technology Law J., Sept. 1, 2015.
• Alex Chan, “Second Chance or No Chance,” Bloomberg BNA, Aug. 7, 2015.
• Alex Chan, “Defending Against Inducement Claims Post-Commil,” Law360, Jul. 15, 2015.
• Kevin McBride and Alex Chan, “But I believe the Patent is Invalid!,” Daily Journal, Apr. 20, 2015.
• Alex Chan, “If There’s Knowledge of the Patent Application, Laches Starts to Run When Patent Issues,” Akin Gump Blog Post, Feb. 17, 2016.
• Alex Chan, “Claims for Pre-issuance Damages Require Actual Notice of and Substantially Identical Claims between the Published Application and the Issued Patent,” Akin Gump Blog Post, Feb. 9, 2016.
• Alex Chan, “Post-Complaint Events or Transactions Cannot Cure Prudential Standing Defects,” Akin Gump Blog Post, Feb. 1, 2016.
• Alex Chan, “CAFC: If (No Factual Findings), Then (No Deference),” Akin Gump Blog Post, Jun. 5, 2015.
• Alex Chan, “Invalidity is not a Defense to Infringement but a Defense to Liability,” Akin Gump Blog Post, May 29, 2015.
• Alex Chan, “Objectively Reasonable Invalidity Defense Shields Accused Infringer From Willful Infringement,” Akin Gump Blog Post, Jan. 9, 2015.

• Letter to Supreme Court of California, “Recommendation for Approval of a Pilot Portfolio Bar Examination,” State Bar of California, Dec. 15, 2023.
• Official Release, “Public Comment Letter re: ‘Portfolio Bar Exam’ Proposal,” Los Angeles County Bar Association, October, 2023.
• Policy Article, “Enhancing the Validity and Fairness of Lawyer Licensing: Empirical Evidence Supporting Innovative Pathways,” Ohio State Legal Studies Research Paper No. 80, Washington Univ. Journal of Law & Policy, Sept. 13, 2023.
• Media Mention, “State Bar virtual meetings: the good, the bad and the ugly,” Daily Journal, Mar. 23, 2023.
• Media Mention, “’We Understand the Anger: Remote Bar Exam Vendor Says Tech Problems Are Fixed,” The Recorder, Oct. 15, 2021.
• Media Mention, “ExamSoft Responds To Claims It Ruined The Last Bar Exam,” Marino Legal Academy, Oct. 19, 2021.
• News Release, “California Supreme Court Names Chair, Vice-Chair of State Bar Board of Trustees,” California Courts Newsroom, Aug. 20, 2021.
• News Release, “California Supreme Court Names Members of Blue Ribbon Bar Exam Commission,” California Courts Newsroom, Apr. 27, 2021.
• Speaker, “Leadership Speaks: A Discussion on Racial Injustice,” Section of Litigation, The American Bar Association, Jun. 25, 2020.
• “Relevance Required to Discover Funding Agreements,” ABA Litigation News, Apr. 13, 2020.
• Speaker, “No Limit! The Extraterritorial Reach of Patent Damages,” The 44th Intellectual Property Law Section Institute, Las Vegas, NV, Nov. 16, 2019.
• Moderator, “Latest Development in Awarding Attorneys’ Fees Under Section 285,” Webinar, Section of Intellectual Property Law, California Lawyers Association, Aug. 28, 2019.
• Speaker, “Developing Our Next Generation of Litigators: Creating Opportunities for Courtroom Experience,” ABA Section of Litigation Annual Conference, New York City, May 3, 2019.
• Moderator, Webinar: “Practical Impact of SCOTUS’ Decision in Helsinn v. Teva on Secret Sales,” California Lawyers Association, Intellectual Property Law Section, Feb. 25, 2019.
• Media Mention, “Report of the Delegation of the Intellectual Property Law Section of the California Lawyers Association to Washington D.C.,” New Matter, 2018 Summer Vol. 43, No. 2.
• Media Mention, “Young Lawyers Division honors 40 up-and-coming attorneys,” ABA Journal, 2018.
• “Fed. Circ. Suggests AIA May Not Have Weakened On-Sale Bar,” Law360, May 3, 2017.
• “East Texas Patent Docket Could be Grounded by Federal Circuit,” Law360, Mar. 9, 2016.
• Speaker, “Artificial Intelligence Intellectually Disrupts Patent Litigation,” Artificial Intelligence Startups Conference, San Francisco, May 25, 2016.
• Moderator, “E-Discovery: Tips, Tricks, and Trends for Civil Litigator,” Austin Bench Bar Conference, Apr. 15, 2016.