Preston K Ratliff II

Partner, Litigation Department

New York

T 1(212) 318-6055

F 1(212) 230-7742

Preston K. Ratliff II is the Chair of the Firm’s Litigation practice in New York. Mr. Ratliff focuses his practice on complex, high-stakes patent litigation with an emphasis on the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, chemical, agricultural, and renewable fuel sectors. He has successfully represented major and emerging companies both pre-trial and at trial. Mr. Ratliff has extensive experience counseling clients with respect to their IP portfolios and evaluating strategic licensing opportunities. In addition, Mr. Ratliff has been a frequent publisher in patent journals and has been an invited speaker at some of the most prestigious life sciences industry conferences.

Awards and Exemplary Representations

IAM Patent 1000 ranks Mr. Ratliff as one the world’s leading patent professionals. In addition, IAM noted that he “has prevailed at trial for major companies in hard-fought battles”; as testament to his leadership qualities and outstanding legal dexterity, he assumed the chairmanship of the New York Litigation practice. Further, Mr. Ratliff is one of IAM Strategy 300’s “World’s Leading IP Strategists.”
LMG Life Sciences Star. (2019)
Managing Intellectual Property IP Stars. (2019)
Topped Law360’s “Legal Lions” list for his Federal Circuit victory securing patent exclusivity against multiple defendants on Sunovion’s billion-dollar blockbuster schizophrenia and bipolar drug, Latuda®. (2018)
Named a “Minority Powerbroker” by Law360. (2015)
Law360 named Mr. Ratliff as one of its five “Rising Stars” for Intellectual Property. (2012)
Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma et al. v. Emcure Pharmaceuticals et al.
Lead counsel that locked in full patent protection and revenues arising from Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma’s chemical compound patent for its billion-dollar-plus-per-year schizophrenia and bipolar drug, Latuda®. Specifically, Mr. Ratliff obtained a Federal Circuit decision that affirmed a district court’s November 2016 claim construction ruling and a February 2017 judgment of infringement against three generic drug manufacturers. Taken together, these dual victories secured patent protection for Latuda® while blocking more than a dozen generic drug manufacturers, including industry giant Teva Pharmaceuticals, from launching competing products.
Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. v. Sandoz Inc. and Accord Healthcare, Inc.
Co-led a trial team that won an important trial victory for Merck concerning its pharmaceutical product Emend® for Injection, which is used in the prevention of nausea and vomiting associated with cancer chemotherapy. After a bench trial, the district court ruled that Merck’s patent was valid and infringed, defeating the challenge brought by several generic companies. Mr. Ratliff also co-led a team that convinced the Patent Office to deny Canadian pharmaceutical company Apotex’s petition for an IPR, challenging a patent protecting Merck’s Emend® for Injection franchise. Mr. Ratliff also convinced the PTAB to deny Apotex’s further request to rehear its IPR petition.
Sucampo Pharmaceuticals Inc. et al. v. Par Pharmaceuticals, Inc. et al.
Lead trial counsel for Sucampo in a Hatch-Waxman litigation protecting its leading medication Amitiza® for bowel disorders. In its suit against Par, Mr. Ratliff helped secure a settlement that provides Sucampo additional market exclusivity as well as a royalty bearing license.
Biovail International Laboratories v. Andrx Pharmaceuticals, LLC et al.
Co-led a trial team that secured a highly favorable settlement in a hotly-contested patent infringement litigation regarding the company’s top-selling drug product for managing blood pressure.

Professional and Community Involvement

Intellectual Property Owners Association, Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology Issues Committee
New Jersey Intellectual Property Law Association
Metropolitan Black Bar Association
Admitted to practice in various courts throughout the United States, including the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
Registered to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office

Education

American University Washington College of Law, J.D. (1999)
Syracuse University, B.S. in Chemical Engineering and minor in German (1996)

Rankings & Awards

Recognized as LMG Life Sciences Stars for 2019
Paul Hastings was recognized in the 2019 edition of LMG Life Sciences, with Highly Recommended rankings for General Patent Litigation and Hatch-Waxman Branded Litigation. The publication selected seven individual lawyers as Life Sciences Stars, including Eric Dittmann, Gary Giampetruzzi, Naveen Modi, Joseph O’Malley, Chad Peterman, Preston Ratliff, and Bruce Wexler. Earlier this year, LMG Life Sciences honored Paul Hastings as Inter-Partes Review Firm of the Year.
September 30, 2019

Recognized by Managing IP as the Life Sciences IP Litigation Firm of the Year
Paul Hastings was was recognized by Managing IP at their Americas Awards, which honored individuals and companies behind the most innovative and challenging IP work of the past year, as well as those driving the international IP market. The firm was recognized as Life Sciences IP Litigation Firm of the Year in the United States.
April 05, 2019

Recognized as the 2019 Post-Grant Firm of the Year by IAM Magazine
Paul Hastings was recognized as the Post-Grant Firm of the Year at Intellectual Asset Management's inaugural Global IP Awards. The award recognizes the achievements of the firm's Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) Team, which practices before the US Patent & Trial Office. Over the past year, the team's accomplishments include numerous post-grant proceeding victories for technology and life sciences clients - four of which were affirmed by the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
January 30, 2019

Recognized as LMG Life Sciences Stars for 2018
Paul Hastings was recognized in the 2018 edition of LMG Life Sciences, with Highly Recommended rankings for General Patent Litigation and Hatch-Waxman Branded Litigation. LMG Life Sciences selected seven individual lawyers as "Life Sciences Stars," including Eric Dittmann, Gary Giampetruzzi, Naveen Modi, Joseph O’Malley, Chad Peterman, Preston Ratliff, and Bruce Wexler. Earlier this year, LMG Life Sciences honored the firm with the LMG Life Sciences award for Hatch-Waxman Litigation Firm of the Year – Branded.
October 12, 2018

Recognized as the Hatch-Waxman Litigation Firm of the Year by LMG Life Sciences
LMG Life Sciences announced that the firm’s Intellectual Property practice was honored at the LMG Life Sciences Awards as the Hatch-Waxman Litigation Firm of the Year (Branded). The publication cited the firm for wins on behalf of Sunovion Pharmaceuticals, which locked in compound patent protection for Latuda®, the company’s billion-dollar-plus-per-year schizophrenia and bipolar drug, after a judgment of infringement that was affirmed by the Federal Circuit; and for Orexigen Therapeutics after a trial victory where the judge found all three patents-in-suit to be valid and infringed. The firm was also noted for obtaining an unprecedented six walk-away consent judgments in a major pharmaceutical litigation.

The firm and its partners were also shortlisted for:
* Inter-Partes Review Firm of the Year
* Post Grant Proceedings Attorney of the Year: Naveen Modi
* General Patent Litigator of the Year – New York: Bruce Wexler
September 13, 2018

Paul Hastings IP Practice Honored in 2017 IAM Patent 1000
Intellectual Asset Management highlighted Paul Hastings' IP practice in IAM Patent 1000: The World's Leading Patent Professionals. The guide ranked the firm's practices Nationwide as well as in New York and Washington, DC. Paul Hastings partners were ranked in California: Yar Chaikovsky; New York: Joseph O'Malley; Gerald Flattmann; Preston Ratliff; Bruce Wexler; Samuel Waxman; Washington DC: Naveen Modi; Blair Jacobs; Joseph Palys; and Allan Soobert; and in Japan: Hiroyuki Hagiwara. Paul Hastings attorneys were also recognized in IAM's Nationwide tables: Yar Chaikovsky and Blair Jacobs were recommended for International Trade Commission litigation; Jacobs was recommended for his experience in Federal Circuit appellate litigation; and Naveen Modi and Joseph Palys were both recognized for their strength in post-grant proceedings. Preston Ratliff was also noted in the IAM Strategy 300, which recognizes individuals for their work in protecting intellectual property as a key business asset.
June 06, 2017

Paul Hastings IP Practice Honored in 2016 IAM Patent 1000
Intellectual Asset Management highlighted Paul Hastings' IP practice in its IAM Patent 1000: The World’s Leading Patent Professionals 2016. The guide ranked the firm’s Nationwide, New York, Washington, D.C., and Georgia IP practices; and partners Yar Chaikovsky, Gerald Flattmann, Blair Jacobs, Robin McGrath, Naveen Modi, Joseph O'Malley, Joseph Palys, Preston Ratliff, Samuel Waxman, and Bruce Wexler were recognized as leading lawyers.
May 27, 2016

Paul Hastings IP Practice Honored in 2015 IAM Patent 1000
Intellectual Asset Management highlighted Paul Hastings' IP practice in its IAM
Patent 1000: The World’s Leading Patent Professionals 2015. The guide ranked the firm’s Nationwide, New York, and Washington, D.C. IP practices; and partners Yar Chaikovsky, Gerald Flattmann, Blair Jacobs, Naveen Modi, Joseph O'Malley, Steven Park, Jeff Randall, Preston Ratliff, Allan Soobert, and Bruce Wexler were recognized as leading lawyers.
June 17, 2015

Legal Media Group's 2013 LMG Life Science Awards
The firm was nominated as a 2013 LMG Life Science nominee in the “Litigation Team of the Year” and “(General) Patent Litigation: Firm of the Year” categories.
August 12, 2013

Law360, Rising Stars 2012
Partner Preston Ratliff was named one of the Law360's five Rising Stars for 2012 in the Intellectual Property field.
April 06, 2012

Intellectual Property Magazine
Intellectual Property Magazine recognized Paul Hastings' IP Pharmaceutical Team as the Pharmaceutical Team of the Year.
November 30, 2010

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