Seth Lloyd is a partner in the Appellate and Supreme Court practice with particular experience arguing and briefing high stakes patent appeals at the Federal Circuit.

Seth is a go-to appellate attorney for complex appeals and has argued many cases in federal and state appellate courts across the country. He is especially skilled in appeals at the intersection of law and technology, where he leverages his strong technical background. Clients appreciate Seth’s ability to distill complicated scientific and legal principles into clear and winning arguments. He takes that approach in the Federal Circuit, where he handles appeals from district courts, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, and the International Trade Commission. Seth’s winning oral arguments include a successful reversal of three PTAB decisions in a consolidated appeal for a computer memory designer. Seth is also co-chair of the Federal Circuit Bar Association’s Administrative Law & Regulatory Committee.

Seth regularly practices in the United States Supreme Court. He has drafted petitions and amicus briefs at the certiorari stage, as well as party and amicus briefs at the merits stage. Seth also moots members of the bar for Supreme Court arguments through the Georgetown Supreme Court Institute and is a barrister in the Edward Coke Appellate Inn of Court. In 2025, Seth won the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network’s Judicial Advocacy Initiative Award for his pro bono work in support of access to healthcare.

Before joining Morrison Foerster, Seth served as a law clerk for Judge Richard G. Taranto of the Federal Circuit. He earned his J.D. from Stanford and holds a Ph.D. in electrical engineering, also from Stanford. During his graduate studies, Seth received the National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship, published 10 peer-reviewed articles, and co-invented the subject matter of five U.S. patents.

Appellate Arguments

• CPC Patent Technologies v. Apple Inc. (14:38) (Fed. Cir.) Argued and won affirmance for inter partes review petitioner in challenge to patent claims to biometric security
  

• CPC Patent Technologies v. Apple Inc. (13:42) (Fed. Cir.) Argued and won affirmance for inter partes review petitioner in challenge to patent claims to biometric security
  

• Cellspin Soft v. Fitbit LLC (40:48) (Fed. Cir.) Argued on behalf of multiple defendants and won affirmance of summary judgment of noninfringement for patent claims related to wireless communications
  

• Cellspin Soft v. Fitbit LLC (32:28) (Fed. Cir.) Argued and won dismissal of appeal requesting recusal of district court judge

• Renesas Electronics Corp. v. Broadcom Corp. (00:10) (Fed. Cir.) Argued and won affirmance for inter partes review petitioner in challenge to electronic device claims

• ams-OSRAM USA v. Renesas Electronics America (00:12) (Fed. Cir.) Argued and won partial reversal, partial affirmance, and partial vacatur of district court trade secrets decision

• Netlist, Inc. v. Diablo Technologies, Inc. (02:56) (Fed. Cir.) Argued and won reversal for owner of computer memory patents in appeals from three consolidated inter partes reviews
• Google LLC v. Netlist, Inc. (13:15) (Fed. Cir.) Argued and won affirmance for owner of computer memory patents in consolidated appeals from decade-long reexamination
• Apple Inc. v. MPH Technologies Oy (00:16) (Fed. Cir.) Argued for inter partes review petitioner in challenge to computer security claims
• Netlist, Inc. v. SanDisk LLC (01:53) (Fed. Cir.) Argued for patent owner in consolidated appeals raising APA challenges to inter partes review decisions
• Nicole K. v. Stigdon (00:16) (7th Cir.) Argued for children in Indiana foster care raising constitutional due process claims
• Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. Doe (21:40) (D.C. Cir.) Argued as court-appointed amicus defending an order refusing a subpoena to unmask an internet subscriber’s identity
• Harris v. Mangum (00:02) (9th Cir.) Argued as court-appointed amicus defending indigent prisoner’s right to a guardian ad litem

Additional Representative Matters

• SNIPR Technologies Ltd. v. Rockefeller University (Fed. Cir.) Revived five SNIPR patents related to CRISPR technology after prevailing in a precedential decision that reversed the Patent Office’s interpretation of the America Invents Act (AIA), under which post-AIA patents could be subjected to pre-AIA interference proceedings

• Broadcom Corp. v. International Trade Commission (Fed. Cir.) Successfully defended ITC’s determination of no Section 337 violation in case involving multiple patents directed to system-on-chip technology for automobile infotainment systems
• Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. v. Alexion Pharmaceuticals (D. Del.) Successfully beat back defendant’s push for summary judgment of invalidity for lack of written description on pharmaceutical genus claims, ultimately helping to secure a $775 million settlement for the patent owner
• C.R. Bard Inc. v. AngioDynamics, Inc. (Fed. Cir.) Secured reversal of district court judgment of non-infringement, no willfulness, and invalidity, reviving Bard’s infringement case on three patents
• Washington University v. Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (3d Cir.) Successfully defended trial victory for breach of patent licensing agreement and further won judgment entitling Washington University to prejudgment interest
• Nevro Corp. v. Boston Scientific Corp. (Fed. Cir.) Secured reversal for Nevro of district court judgment of invalidity for indefiniteness
• Federal National Mortgage Association v. Zabriskie (9th Cir.) Won reversal for Fannie Mae of a Fair Credit Reporting Act judgment
• Henson v. Santander Consumer USA Inc. (S. Ct.) Represented U.S. Chamber of Commerce and others as amici supporting respondent in unanimous affirmance of Fair Debt Collection Act decision
• BASF Corp. v. Johnson Matthey Inc. (Fed. Cir.) Won reversal of an invalidity ruling against patentee BASF, reviving its patent claims
• C.R. Bard Inc. v. Medline Industries, Inc. (Fed. Cir.) Won vacatur for petitioner of three Patent Trial and Appeal Board decisions on obviousness for patents to medical device technology
• Altayyar v. Etsy, Inc. (2d Cir.) Secured dismissal of securities fraud case for failure to adequately plead falsity
• Bridge & Post, Inc. v. Verizon Communications, Inc. (Fed. Cir.) Secured dismissal because asserted patents claimed unpatentable subject matter
• Sam Francis Foundation v. Christie’s, Inc. (S. Ct.) Successfully preserved Sotheby’s en banc win at the Ninth Circuit based on the dormant Commerce Clause
• Phigenix, Inc. v. Genentech, Inc. (Fed. Cir.) Secured total victory of noninfringement for Genentech
• Deason v. Fujifilm Holdings Corp. (New York Appellate Division, First Department) Secured reversal in major shareholder challenge to corporate acquisition
• V.L. v. E.L. (S. Ct.) As counsel for children’s guardian ad litem, secured reversal of Alabama Supreme Court’s refusal to grant full faith and credit to Georgia judgment recognizing lesbian mother as legal parent