Kevin P. Hess

Kevin Hess is a Principal in McKool Smith’s Austin office. Kevin specializes in high-stakes patent infringement and technology cases, with a particular focus on standard essential patents subject to FRAND or RAND obligations. Kevin has successfully represented both patentees and accused infringers in the United States District Court, the International Trade Commission, the Patent and Trial Appeal Board, and the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. He has helped win key trial victories for numerous clients. 

Kevin previously worked as an engineer in the semiconductor industry. He puts his technical experience to use for clients in a variety of industries, including wireless telecommunications, consumer electronics, semiconductors, cable television, and energy.

Kevin has managed and tried all phases of litigation from pre-filing investigation to post-trial briefing and appeals. He has significant experience drafting motions, appellate briefs, and inter partes review (IPR) papers, managing cases, arguing motions, and taking and defending expert witnesses at deposition and at trial. Kevin also has client-side experience, having served on secondment at Ericsson, where he managed strategy and preparation for a global patent litigation campaign.

Super Lawyers magazine named Kevin a Texas “Rising Star” each of the last five years.

• Optis Wireless Technology et al. v. Huawei. Represented plaintiffs in a patent infringement suit in the Eastern District of Texas related to 4G. Kevin had broad responsibilities throughout the case and at both the jury and bench trials, including presenting an expert witness. After the five-day jury trial, the jury found infringement, willfulness, no invalidity, and awarded full damages for each of the five patents-in-suit. The case settled after the Court granted plaintiffs’ post-trial motion for exceptional case status and awarded all expenses and attorney fees.
• HTC v. Ericsson. Represents Ericsson in a dispute over FRAND terms for a license to cellular essential patents. Kevin was a member of the trial team that won an important verdict for Ericsson. The Eastern District of Texas jury found that Ericsson’s license offers did not breach Ericsson’s FRAND commitment. Following the verdict, the Court issued a declaratory judgment holding that Ericsson complied with FRAND and rejecting HTC’s efforts to require Ericsson to license its cellular patents as a percentage of the profit margin/cost of a baseband processor.
• Mobile Telecommunications Technologies LLC v. T-Mobile. Represented defendant T-Mobile in a patent infringement suit in the Eastern District of Texas related to cellular technologies, including MIMO and OFDM. The case settled shortly before trial.
• Dynamic 3D Geosolutions LLC v. Halliburton et al.  Represented defendant Halliburton and others in a patent infringement suit in the Western District of Texas related to geophysical software. The case settled favorably.
• ParkerVision v. Qualcomm. Member of the trial team that represented plaintiff ParkerVision in a patent infringement suit against Qualcomm in the Middle District of Florida related to wireless receiver technology. The jury awarded substantial damages to ParkerVision.

• Recognized among the "40 & Under" by Benchmark Litigation (2023, 2024)
• Recognized by "Best Lawyers in America" as Ones to Watch for IP, 2023-2025
• Named a Texas "Rising Star" by Super Lawyers, 2017-2023
• Named among the Top Most Active and Performing Attorneys Representing Complainants by the Patexia ITC Intelligence Report, 2023 - 2024