Holly Victorson advises clients on complex IP disputes at the intersection of AI, digital copyright, and technology. 

As a former software engineer, Holly applies a deep and practical understanding of her clients’ technologies and businesses to creatively address their unique legal challenges.

She represents clients in a variety of technology-focused litigation, including copyright, patent, and other civil claims. Holly guides clients on technological developments and business long before any lawsuit is filed, and she is experienced steering clients through pre-suit investigation, fact and expert discovery, trial, and appeal. She has successfully represented both large and small clients across multiple industries, including:

  • Consumer software
  • AI technology
  • Electronic devices
  • Semiconductors
  • Mobile communications
  • Software-powered medical devices 

A recognized leader at the firm, she recently served as Co-Chair of the Washington, D.C. Parent Lawyers Group.

Before joining Latham, Holly clerked for Judge Kimberly A. Moore of the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Prior to law school, she served as the Director of the Office of Research & Technology Applications and as a systems and computer engineer at the Space Vehicles and Directed Energy Directorates of the US Air Force Research Laboratory. She is a named inventor on one US patent.

Holly maintains an active pro bono practice, with a particular interest in representing veterans. She recently represented a former Navy seaman in an appeal of a fitness determination in which the client obtained the medical retirement he sought, and the court awarded attorneys’ fees. 

Holly's experience includes advising:

  • Johnson & Johnson Surgical Vision in a copyright infringement dispute against its main competitor for theft of software for an ophthalmic laser surgery system, resulting in a favorable worldwide settlement
  • A technology company in copyright, trademark, and Digital Millennium Copyright Act litigation brought by educational publishers
  • Apple Inc. in a litigation involving copyright infringement and Digital Millennium Copyright Act claims regarding virtualization technology
  • Nitride Semiconductors Co. in patent litigation involving ultraviolet LED manufacturing process; successfully defended patent validity against two IPR petitions and received default judgment in favor of client in the Northern District of California
  • MModal LLC in series of patent infringement suits against a competitor in the District of Delaware and the Northern District of Georgia, and both offensive and defensive actions in front of the PTAB, regarding patents for voice recognition software

Thought Leadership

  • “The Halo Effect: Willful Infringement and Enhanced Damages in Light of Halo,” 69 Am. Univ. L. Rev. 1067 (2020)
  • “Structure From Nothing and Claims for Free: Using A Whole-System View of the Patent System to Improve Notice and Predictability for Software Patents,” 20 Mich. Telecomm. & Tech. L. Rev. 497 (2014)

Bar Qualification

  • District of Columbia
  • California

Education

  • JD, University of Michigan Law School, 2015
    cum laude
  • BS in Computer Engineering, University of New Mexico, 2006
    summa cum laude

Languages Spoken

  • English