Katherine McNutt

Katie represents clients in high-stakes patent, copyright, trade secret and trademark disputes before federal and state courts and the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. A deep-seated enthusiasm for science and technology motivated Katie to focus her practice on intellectual property issues, and her experience spans all phases of complex IP disputes, from risk assessment and pre-filing negotiations through trial and appeal. Katie combines technical fluency with strategic judgment to provide constructive and practical advice that helps clients protect their most valuable assets and advance key business objectives. 

Before joining Cooley, Katie clerked for Judge Kara F. Stoll of the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and Judge Richard G. Andrews of the US District Court for the District of Delaware. She also litigated disputes across a range of industries at a prominent trial boutique firm and a large, multinational firm. During law school, Katie was editor in chief of the Stanford Technology Law Review.

Katie’s representative matters include:

• Winning a substantial jury verdict for a pharmaceutical company in patent infringement litigation regarding cancer treatment*
• Conducting a product launch risk analysis for a diabetes product for a biotechnology company*
• Obtaining dismissal for a major healthcare provider of trade secret misappropriation claims concerning wearable technology*
• Securing dismissal for an online marketplace related to copyright infringement claims*
• Representing a media company in pre-litigation negotiations regarding patent infringement allegations involving streaming technology*
• Winning a noninfringement jury verdict for a games company in patent infringement litigation regarding virtual world environments*

* Representation handled before joining Cooley

Katie’s presentations and publications include:

• Moderator, “The Skinny on Skinny Labels: Legal Challenges in Generic Drug Litigation,” Los Angeles Intellectual Property Law Association 2025 Washington in the West Conference, January 2025
• Moderator, Los Angeles Intellectual Property Law Association 2024 Courthouse Lunch Program, November 2024
• Co-author, “Mitigating patent risk in gene therapy development,” IAM, June 2023
• Author, “A Design-Around for the United States Design Patent System: What Can the United States Learn from the United Kingdom and Canada in the Aftermath of Samsung v. Apple?” Virginia Journal of International Law, 2018
• Co-author, “Party-Appointed Arbitrators,” Association of Business Trial Lawyers Report – LA, Fall 2015/Winter 2016