Trevor Q. Coddington, Ph.D.

Managing Partner

Trevor Q. Coddington, Ph.D., is the Managing Partner of Insigne. Trevor offers a unique combination of litigation insight, patent prosecution skills, real-life experience, and technical know-how delivered with practical business advice. Having spent decades acquiring, enforcing, and challenging patents, Trevor brings a deep understanding of patent law and strategies. With a contagious passion for learning new things, a problem-solving attitude, and an easy-to-work-with approach, Trevor is the “go-to” advisor for various innovative companies ranging from up-and-coming start-ups to market leaders.

While finishing his Ph.D. in Physics, Trevor started his legal career as a patent examiner at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) in the late 1990s. During his PTO tenure, Trevor examined patent applications in the art of applied cryptography, which touched upon numerous technologies involved in e-commerce, telecommunications, and cybersecurity.

After leaving the PTO, Trevor cut his teeth as a patent agent with a sought-after group of IP attorneys in the Washington, DC office of Baker Botts LLP while attending law school at night. As a valued team member, Trevor was invited to follow the group when it started the East Coast intellectual property practice at Brobeck, Phleger, and Harrison LLP, and then again when it joined Hunton & Williams LLP. After graduating George Washington Law School, Trevor moved to California upon the invitation of former Brobeck attorneys who had jump-started the West Coast IP practice at Paul Hastings LLP. In 2009, Trevor left Paul Hastings to start San Diego IP Law Group LLP, which had a decade of success before moving to Insigne.

In addition to patents, Trevor is a sought-after advisor in other IP matters, including trade secret, trademark, and copyright. On the technical side, Trevor is recognized as an expert in holograms used by the entertainment industry, having been integral in numerous patent disputes involving technology, enabling the digital resurrections of Tupac Shakur at Coachella and Michael Jackson at the Billboard Music Awards, among others.

Trevor’s commitment and passion for innovation are demonstrated through his volunteer work. For years, Trevor counseled (pro bono) teams competing in the annual Biomimicry Global Design Challenge (BGDC) presented by the Biomimicry Institute. The BGDC creates viable solutions inspired by nature that address the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Trevor also enjoys mentoring legal minds and future inventors and entrepreneurs. Trevor is committed to leveling the playing field by providing support and guidance to underrepresented groups in business and technology.

“Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships.” – Michael Jordan.

  • Experience
  • Insights
  • Interests
  • Practice Areas
  • Industries
  • Technical Expertise
  • Education
  • Bar Admission
  • Drafted and obtained hundreds of patents before the PTO and various foreign patent offices. Obtained numerous trademark registrations around the world.
  • Obtained a 18.77% royalty for a patentee via a non-confidential settlement with an alleged infringer. Evolusion Concepts, Inc. v. Cross Engineering, LLC et al., Case No. 3:18-cv-00871-MSB (S.D.Cal.). The 18.77% royalty rate now serving as a standard in an enforcement/licensing campaign for the client.
  • Sought declaratory judgment of non-infringement for a client, which resulted in Patentee abandoning its infringement claim and purchasing client’s product line for a significant amount of money.
  • Defeated a motion to dismiss on Alice grounds with Court adopting client’s argument. Confident Technologies Inc. v. AXS Group LLC et al., Case No. 3:17-cv-02181-H-MDD (S.D.Cal.) (“The Court agrees with Plaintiff that the invention claimed in the ‘578 patent is not directed to an abstract idea.”).
  • Successfully defended a client’s five patents during extensive reexamination proceedings, then successfully obtained a lucrative settlement resulting in an effective 25% royalty payment.
  • Successfully obtained a lucrative settlement for a patentee against one of the largest pharmacy chains in the United States a few months after filing. Drafted and obtained patent at-issue as well.
  • Convinced opponent’s key technical expert to surrender his non-infringement and patent invalidity theories during a deposition, which prompted a highly favorable settlement just weeks before trial.
  • Found invalidating prior art that had not been considered by the PTO during reexamination of an asserted patent and convinced patentee to dismiss its claims against a client within months after filing of the lawsuit.
  • Forced accountability on a Patentee to issue a press release announcing that a client’s products do not infringe and that customers may purchase client’s products without fear of reprisal.
  • Testified as an expert in patent law on several occasions involving disputes related to PTO procedure, patent licensing and ownership, and acts of inequitable conduct by patent applicants.
  • B.S. Engineering Physics, The Ohio State University
  • M.S. Physics, Old Dominion University
  • Ph.D. Physics, Old Dominion University
  • J.D., George Washington University
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
  • United States Patent and Trademark Office
  • United States Court of Federal Claims
  • Supreme Court of Virginia
  • Supreme Court of California
  • United States District Court for the Southern District of California
  • United States District Court for the Central District of California
  • United States District Court for the Northern District of California