Rick Matthews
Rick’s degree in chemistry with a focus on biochemistry, along with his industry experience and extensive medical background, allows him to quickly understand complex technologies and translate them into compelling legal and intellectual property positions.
As a first-chair trial lawyer and lead IP counsel on numerous corporate deals, Rick handles complex patent, trademark, trade secret, and copyright matters including litigation and transactions for clients across a wide array of technical areas such as life sciences, ag-bio, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, high tech and software applications, precision manufactured (and federally regulated) equipment and parts, consumer products, and energy technologies, to name a few. He is frequently called on to handle a range of IP issues from bet-the-company litigation to important M&A deals where speed, precision, and strategic judgment are critical.
Rick’s litigation experience spans more than 40 states and several foreign countries including federal courts, the USPTO, PTAB, ITC, TTAB, as well as appellate courts nationwide and tribunals around the world. In addition, Rick has led corporate acquisition and divestiture deals involving IP across a variety of industries. He guides clients through the full lifecycle of IP management with a focus on achieving efficient, business-driven results.
Rick is a registered patent attorney and a North Carolina Board Certified Specialist in Trademark Law, offering over two decades of experience to every case he handles. Clients trust Rick to develop robust, defensible intellectual property portfolios and to proactively address challenges before they become significant issues.
- The George Washington University Law School (LLM), 2005
- Campbell University School of Law (J.D.), 2004
- Campbell Law Observer – Editor-in-Chief and Case Law Editor
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (B.S.), 1999
- American Chemical Society Freshman Chemistry Achievement Award
Professional Affiliations
- American Intellectual Property Law Association – Amicus Committee Member ; Former Special Education Committee; Former Membership Committee Board Member; Former NLC-CLE Subcommittee Founder and Chair; Former New Lawyers Committee Chair and Vice Chair
- North Carolina Bar Association – IP Section Chair (2024-2025), IP Section Council, Ethics Committee Co-Chair; Litigation Committee Co-Chair
- Federal Bar Association
- Federal Circuit Bar Association
- American Bar Association – IP Section
- International Trade Commission Trial Lawyers Association
- Association of University Technology Managers
- U.S. District Court for Eastern District of North Carolina Local Patent Rules Committee Member
Bar Admissions
- District of Columbia Bar
- North Carolina State Bar
- State Bar of Georgia
- U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
- Virginia State Bar
Court Admissions
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, 3rd Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, 4th Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, 6th Circuit
- U.S. Court of Federal Claims
- U.S. District Court for District of Colorado
- U.S. District Court for Eastern, Middle, and Western Districts of North Carolina
- U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern and Western Districts of Virginia
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
- U.S. Supreme Court
Best Lawyers® – Raleigh "Lawyer of the Year" for Litigation – Intellectual Property (2026)
Chambers USA – Intellectual Property (2019-present)
World Trademark Review – WTR 1000 (2021, 2023-present)
North Carolina Super Lawyers – Intellectual Property Law (2011-2016, 2022-present)
The Best Lawyers in America© – Trademark Law, Patent Law (2017-present)
Business North Carolina – "Legal Elite" (2014-present)
American Society of Legal Advocates – Top 40 Lawyers Under 40 in Intellectual Property for North Carolina
Experience
THE CASES LISTED BELOW ARE ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE MATTERS HANDLED BY THE FIRM. CASE RESULTS DEPEND UPON A VARIETY OF FACTORS UNIQUE TO EACH CASE. NOT ALL CASE RESULTS ARE PROVIDED. CASE RESULTS DO NOT GUARANTEE OR PREDICT A SIMILAR RESULT IN ANY FUTURE CASE UNDERTAKEN BY THE LAWYER.
Patent Litigation
- Served as lead counsel for Plaintiff in asserting patent and copyright infringement involving hyperspectral imaging technology.
- Represented Plaintiff, a manufacturer, in patent infringement action involving mechanical hitch devices.
- Represented Plaintiff, a developer and manufacturer of photoluminescent safety products, against a competing manufacturer in a patent infringement suit.
- Represented Defendant, a medical device developer, in a suit regarding oscillating positive expiratory pressure (OPEP) devices.
- Served as lead counsel for Plaintiff, a manufacturer of water drainage systems, in a patent infringement suit.
- Defended a full-service national event ticket marketplace, against a non-practicing entity (NPE) claiming infringement of a patent related to the use of intermediaries to securely broker exchanges of personal information.
- Represented Defendant, a leading manufacturer/wholesaler of security products, in an infringement suit related to a design patent for a combination flashlight stun gun.
- Represented Defendant, a chemical manufacturer, against claim of patent infringement.
- Served as counsel for Plaintiff in patent infringement case involving specialty medical balloon.
- Served as lead counsel for a private university in a patent infringement action involving genome editing technology.
Trademark Litigation
- Served as Defense counsel in a trademark infringement and anti-cybersquatting suit.
- Represented Defendant, a multinational corporation engaged in the design, development, manufacturing, and worldwide marketing and sales of footwear, apparel, equipment and other services, against claims of trademark infringement.
- Represented Plaintiff, an aircraft engine parts manufacturer, in a trademark infringement matter.
- Defended a real estate development firm in a trademark dispute.
- Represented Defendant, a major online e-commerce platform, in a trademark dispute.
- Served as lead counsel for Plaintiff, a nutritional and herbal supplements manufacturer, against Defendant in a case for trademark infringement.
- Represented Defendant, a furniture retail company, in a suit alleging trademark and copyright infringement and false advertising.
- Represented Defendant, a North Carolina-based restaurant, in a trademark dispute alleging improper use of Plaintiff’s mark.
- Represented Plaintiff in a trademark dispute alleging misuse of mark without Plaintiff's consent.
- Served as lead counsel for Plaintiff, a national real estate developer, in a trademark dispute through appeal to the Sixth Circuit.
- Represented Plaintiff, an eyewear company, in a suit alleging infringement of its name and mark related to digital/gaming eyewear with similar angles and language.
- Represented Defendant, a manufacturer of poultry and farming products, in a suit alleging trademark and trade dress infringement by competing manufacturer.
- Represented Plaintiff, an online e-cards service provider, in a suit asserting trademark infringement.
- Represented Plaintiff, a public university, in a trademark suit alleging infringement of Plaintiff’s trademark.
- Represented Defendant, a furniture manufacturer and a national retail chain, in a trademark and trade dress infringement case related to the sale of a specific line of children’s furniture.
- Represented Defendants, two national aviation parts manufacturers, asserting counterclaims of trademark infringement and unfair competition against the opposing parties. Summary judgment awarded for clients.
Trade Dress Litigation
- Represented Defendant, a manufacturer of poultry and farming products, in a suit alleging trademark and trade dress infringement by competing manufacturer.
Trade Secret Litigation
- Served as lead counsel for Defendant, a bioscience company, in a trade secret and breach of contract action through settlement.
Copyright Litigation
- Served as lead counsel for Plaintiff in asserting patent and copyright infringement involving hyperspectral imaging technology.
- Represented Defendant, a furniture retail company, in a suit alleging trademark and copyright infringement and false advertising.
“He is a great litigator, and I am amazed at his ability to handle complex concepts in discussion on the fly with the judge and opposing counsel.”
— Williams Mullen Client Feedback - Chambers USA, 2024
