Ryan is a trusted advisor and lead worldwide intellectual property counsel for multinational companies, research institutions, and other organizations. Decision-makers turn to Ryan for his straightforward, holistic approach to complex matters and for his ability to solve business challenges.

Overview
Representative Matters
Insights
Awards

Ryan has more than 20 years of experience providing clients with strategic counseling and guidance on a range of intellectual property matters, including the development, protection, and exploitation of IP assets. He represents companies of all sizes, from startup ventures to Fortune 500 companies, as well as universities and research organizations.

Ryan develops long-standing relationships with clients and immerses himself in the business issues they face. He knows their individual challenges, goals and culture, and brings this knowledge of the relevant technology and science to bear in patent, trademark, and copyright counseling, prosecution, and litigation. Clients know that in addition to providing strong legal counsel, Ryan will collaborate with them to find solutions to their most pressing business challenges.

In 2017, for Ryan’s work providing nonprofits and individuals with patent, trademark, and copyright counseling, he was honored with the Atlanta IP Inn of Court Pro Bono Award. The award recognizes those who go above and beyond in service to those who cannot afford representation. In 2015, Ryan was also honored for his work empowering volunteers across the U.S. to raise awareness and funds for childhood cancer research to find better treatments with fewer long-term side effects and, ultimately, to develop cures, with the Rally for Research Award.

Ryan is featured as one of the leading IP attorneys in Georgia, being named to Georgia Trend magazine’s Legal Elite in Intellectual Property Law, as a Georgia Rising Star and as a Super Lawyer in Intellectual Property Law by Law & Politics and Atlanta Magazine.

  • Represents a global leader on Forbes‘ list The World’s Most Innovative Companies as IP counsel to protect leading brand names available in more than 200 countries. His counsel in this matter primarily involves IP strategies including patent prosecution, product clearance and IP freedom-to-operate assessments, acquisition and spin-off due diligence.
  • Represents the world’s largest designer and manufacturer of artificial Christmas trees and a leading producer of aboveground swimming pools, summer inflatable toys, seasonal lighting, and air mattresses. His counsel includes proactive and sustainable legal strategies in connection with worldwide litigation, IPRs, product clearance and IP freedom-to-operate assessments, trademark, and patent prosecution.
  • Represents top-ranked research colleges and universities worldwide. Ryan leads IP prosecution, product clearance, and IP freedom-to-operate matters covering a variety of emerging technologies created to make power more abundant and eco-friendly – from polymers in thermoelectric generators (TEGs) to innovations that produce electricity using nuclear waste – and to help make groundbreaking technologies a reality.
  • Best Lawyers in America®: Litigation – Intellectual Property (2014-2026), Patent Law (2020-2026), Trademark Law (2021-2026)
  • Managing Intellectual Property: IP Star (2014-2018, 2021, 2022)
  • AV®-rated, LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell
  • IAM Patent 1000: Leading Patent Practitioner (2014-2018)
  • Top-Rated Lawyer, Intellectual Property, Martindale-Hubbell (2012, 2014-2018)
  • Named to The Atlanta Intellectual Property American Inn of Court
  • Legal Elite for Intellectual Property Law, Georgia Trend (2005-2008, 2012-2018)
  • Super Lawyer, Intellectual Property, Law & Politics and Atlanta Magazine (2010-2018)
  • Rising Star, Intellectual Property, Law & Politics and Atlanta Magazine (2005-2007)
  • Recipient, Pro Bono Service Award, Atlanta IP Inn of Court (2017)
  • Recipient, Rally for Research Award, Rally Foundation (2015)

Ryan has more than 20 years of experience providing clients with strategic counseling and guidance on a range of intellectual property matters, including the development, protection, and exploitation of IP assets. He represents companies of all sizes, from startup ventures to Fortune 500 companies, as well as universities and research organizations.

Ryan develops long-standing relationships with clients and immerses himself in the business issues they face. He knows their individual challenges, goals and culture, and brings this knowledge of the relevant technology and science to bear in patent, trademark, and copyright counseling, prosecution, and litigation. Clients know that in addition to providing strong legal counsel, Ryan will collaborate with them to find solutions to their most pressing business challenges.

In 2017, for Ryan’s work providing nonprofits and individuals with patent, trademark, and copyright counseling, he was honored with the Atlanta IP Inn of Court Pro Bono Award. The award recognizes those who go above and beyond in service to those who cannot afford representation. In 2015, Ryan was also honored for his work empowering volunteers across the U.S. to raise awareness and funds for childhood cancer research to find better treatments with fewer long-term side effects and, ultimately, to develop cures, with the Rally for Research Award.

Ryan is featured as one of the leading IP attorneys in Georgia, being named to Georgia Trend magazine’s Legal Elite in Intellectual Property Law, as a Georgia Rising Star and as a Super Lawyer in Intellectual Property Law by Law & Politics and Atlanta Magazine.

  • Represents a global leader on Forbes‘ list The World’s Most Innovative Companies as IP counsel to protect leading brand names available in more than 200 countries. His counsel in this matter primarily involves IP strategies including patent prosecution, product clearance and IP freedom-to-operate assessments, acquisition and spin-off due diligence.
  • Represents the world’s largest designer and manufacturer of artificial Christmas trees and a leading producer of aboveground swimming pools, summer inflatable toys, seasonal lighting, and air mattresses. His counsel includes proactive and sustainable legal strategies in connection with worldwide litigation, IPRs, product clearance and IP freedom-to-operate assessments, trademark, and patent prosecution.
  • Represents top-ranked research colleges and universities worldwide. Ryan leads IP prosecution, product clearance, and IP freedom-to-operate matters covering a variety of emerging technologies created to make power more abundant and eco-friendly – from polymers in thermoelectric generators (TEGs) to innovations that produce electricity using nuclear waste – and to help make groundbreaking technologies a reality.
  • Best Lawyers in America®: Litigation – Intellectual Property (2014-2026), Patent Law (2020-2026), Trademark Law (2021-2026)
  • Managing Intellectual Property: IP Star (2014-2018, 2021, 2022)
  • AV®-rated, LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell
  • IAM Patent 1000: Leading Patent Practitioner (2014-2018)
  • Top-Rated Lawyer, Intellectual Property, Martindale-Hubbell (2012, 2014-2018)
  • Named to The Atlanta Intellectual Property American Inn of Court
  • Legal Elite for Intellectual Property Law, Georgia Trend (2005-2008, 2012-2018)
  • Super Lawyer, Intellectual Property, Law & Politics and Atlanta Magazine (2010-2018)
  • Rising Star, Intellectual Property, Law & Politics and Atlanta Magazine (2005-2007)
  • Recipient, Pro Bono Service Award, Atlanta IP Inn of Court (2017)
  • Recipient, Rally for Research Award, Rally Foundation (2015)
  • Member, American Society of Mechanical Engineers
  • Advisory board member, The Rally Foundation
  • Member, Frequent Presenter, Association of University Technology Managers
  • Member, Intellectual Property Law, Technology Law and Pro Bono Sections, State Bar of Georgia
  • Member, Executive Council and Aspiring Youth Committee, Young Lawyers Division, State Bar of Georgia

Education

  • University of Georgia School of Law, J.D., 1995, editor, Journal of Intellectual Property Law
  • Georgia Institute of Technology, B.M.E., with honors, 1990

Bar Admissions

  • Georgia
  • U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Court Admissions

  • Supreme Court of the United States
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit
  • U.S. District Court, Northern District of Georgia
  • U.S. District Court, Middle District of Georgia
  • Court of Appeals of Georgia
  • Supreme Court of Georgia
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit
  • Speaker, “Navigating the IP Landscape: Intellectual Property Issues, Strategies, and Management for In-House Counsel,” Troutman Pepper Webinar, October 25, 2023.
  • Presenter, The Georgia Asian Pacific American Bar Association (GAPABA) Intellectual Property CLE session at the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) annual Southeast Regional Conference, April 13, 2018.
  • Presenter, “The Patenting Process in the United States – An Overview for Administrative and Support Staff,” Association of University Technology Managers, 2012.
  • Presenter, “The 2012 Minority Faculty Development Workshop: Engineering Enterprise and Innovation,” 2012.
  • Presenter, “Georgia Tech Integrated Programs for Startups,” (GT:IPS), 2012.
  • Webinar host and presenter, The Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM), 2011-2012.
  • Presenter, AUTM Eastern Region Meeting in San Juan, Puerto Rico, 2009.
  • Co-author, “Understanding the USPTO’s Final Rule on Fee Adjustments for Patent Applications and Appeals,” Troutman Pepper, December 11, 2024.
  • Co-author, “New European Unitary Patent and Court,” Troutman Pepper, May 8, 2023.
  • Co-author, “More and More, Faster and Faster,” The Daily Report, Jan. 8, 2018.
  • Author, “The Intersection of Law and 3D Printing: How IP Could Be Impacted by 3D Printing in the Future,” LawyerMade Magazine, Aug. 22, 2014.
  • Author, chapter, Inside the Minds: Developing a Patent Strategy: Leading Lawyers on Counseling Clients on Patent Protection, Evaluating Patent Portfolios, and Working With the USPTO, Aspatore Books, a Thomson Reuters business, 2010.
  • Editor, Intellectual Property, Patents, Trademarks and Copyrights, Richard Stim, 3rd Edition, Delmar Learning, 2009.