practice areas
bar admissions
- Texas
- New York
Court Admissions
- U.S. Supreme Court
- U.S. Courts of Appeals for the First, Fifth, and Federal Circuits
- U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Eastern, and Southern Districts of Texas
- U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York
- U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut
- U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts
- U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
- Houston
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1000 Louisiana St., Suite 4000
Houston, TX 77002-5006
Phone: 713.890.5772
Fax: 713.890.5001
Timothy Carter Pledger is an associate in Morgan Lewis's Litigation and Intellectual Property Practices. Mr. Pledger focuses his practice on the transactional and litigation aspects of intellectual property matters. He has obtained and enforced patents in the computer software, computer hardware, consumer electronics, automotive, and financial industries.
Mr. Pledger's patent prosecution experience includes U.S. and foreign applications, office action responses, examiner interviews in the patent office, appeals, and Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences hearings. Mr. Pledger's litigation experience includes handling patent litigation, trademark litigation, and trade secret litigation cases.
Prior to joining Morgan Lewis, Mr. Pledger worked as in-house counsel for the Digital Equipment Corp., Microsoft, and in first-tier patent firms in New York City. He has held memberships in most major intellectual property bar associations.
Mr. Pledger is a volunteer for the Houston Volunteer Lawyers program, where he was Star Volunteer of the Month for April 2008. He has served as a director of museum and church organizations in New York City and Boston, and is a volunteer for the New York City Ballet and the Alley Theatre in Houston.
Mr. Pledger earned his J.D., with honors, from the University of Texas School of Law in 1978, where he received the Butler, Binion, Rice, Cook & Knapp Award for the highest grade in civil procedure and was a member of Phi Delta Phi. He earned his B.A., magna cum laude, from Rice University, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa.
Mr. Pledger is admitted to practice in Texas and New York and before the U.S. Supreme Court; the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the First, Fifth, and Federal Circuits; the U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Eastern, and Southern Districts of Texas; the U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York; the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut; the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts; and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Selected Representations
Note: This list includes deals that were not completed at Morgan Lewis.
- Negotiated a major software development and licensing agreement between two multinational computer companies.
- Negotiated numerous product development and licensing agreements between computer manufacturing companies.
- Negotiated numerous research agreements with first tier research universities.
- Negotiated numerous agreements for consulting services between a multinational computer company and consulting firms.
- Negotiated numerous software licenses between a multinational computer company and software suppliers.
- Sold a division of a multinational computer company to a licensee.
- Organized a consortium for a multi-party D.A.R.P.A. grant from the U.S. Government with a first tier research university and a multinational telecommunications company.
- Represented a multinational telecommunications company in an action against a major oil company for breach of covenant not to compete and theft of trade secrets by former employees.
- Represented a multinational telecommunications company in a patent infringement action against a multinational computer company relating to computer terminals.
- Represented a Wall Street bank in a multi-defendant action for patent infringement relating to automated teller machines.
- Represented a major toy manufacturer in a patent infringement action relating to Rubik's cube.
- Represented a telecommunications company in a patent infringement and theft of trade secrets action relating to specialized telephone equipment used on Wall Street.
- Represented a manufacturer in a patent infringement action for barbed tape.
- Represented plaintiffs in anti-counterfeiting actions related to clothing, mechanical toys and ceramics products.
- Represented a professional football team in actions for copyright, trademark, and service mark infringement against a photographer and a cinematographer.
- Represented a manufacturer in an action for patent infringement relating to semiconductor fabrication equipment.
- Represented a recruiting firm in an action in state court against a former employee for theft of trade secrets.
education
- University of Texas School of Law, 1978, J.D., With Honors
- Rice University, 1975, B.A., Magna Cum Laude