Elizabeth D. Ferrill

Elizabeth counsels clients who hold design patents as well as those accused of infringement. She has experience with design patents related to consumer and industrial products, medical devices, transportation and construction vehicles, and graphical user interfaces and icons. She has prosecuted families of design patents before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), directed prosecution in foreign countries, and argued appeals before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). She has a special interest in strategic counseling related to acquiring for worldwide protection for designs. She also litigates design patent matters at the U.S. district court level that include trade dress claims. In addition, she has appeared before the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

Elizabeth also has extensive experience in utility patent litigation in the areas of software- and hardware-related technologies and counseling in trade secret matters, including selection of patent or trade secret protection for innovative ideas. Elizabeth has jury and bench trial litigation experience, which includes claim construction, dispositive motions, post-trial, and appeal. She has argued at the Fourth Circuit, and is well-versed in discovery dispute resolution, preparing and taking expert and fact witness at trial, and settlement negotiations. Elizabeth is the recipient of Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO)’s Carl B. Horton Distinguished Service Award and has been recognized by Intellectual Asset Management (IAM) as a leader in patent litigation and transactions in the D.C. area, and nationally for design patents. Managing Intellectual Property (MIP) has named Elizabeth as a “Patent Star” both nationally and regionally. She is the Editor-in-Chief of Comparative Global Design Law, published by Bloomberg Law.

Before beginning her legal career, Elizabeth graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy and served five years on active duty as a communications officer. She was stationed at Bolling AFB, Washington, D.C., coordinating and overseeing testing of joint intelligence software systems, and at Thule Air Base, Greenland, where she served as the flight commander in charge of base communications. Today, Elizabeth serves on the Board of Directors of the Air Force Academy Foundation, which supports the Academy’s enduring mission of developing leaders of character for the nation, and providing a lifetime of service to the Long Blue Line.

Prior to joining the firm, Elizabeth served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Liam O’Grady at the U.S. District Court for the E.D. of Virginia, Alexandria Division. She is an adviser and contributor to Finnegan’s Federal Circuit IP blog.

As part of Finnegan’s pro bono program, Elizabeth has represented criminal defendants in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, the E.D. of Virginia, and the Virginia Supreme Court. She previously served as a lead for Finnegan’s military veteran’s pro bono program and on the Board of Directors of Community Tax Aid, Inc., a local Washington, D.C. non-profit that provides free tax preparation service to low- and moderate-income families for more than a decade. Elizabeth has been recognized on the Capital Pro Bono Honor Roll.

Elizabeth previously co-led the firm’s litigation section.