Tara Elliott is a partner in the Washington, D.C. office and a member of the Intellectual Property Litigation Practice.
Ms. Elliott is a first-chair trial lawyer whose practice focuses on high-profile intellectual property proceedings and commercial litigation. Ms. Elliott has a unique combination of private practice and government experience that enables her to navigate clients' most complex legal issues. She has represented many of the world’s leading technology, retail, and manufacturing companies in infringement matters, corporate disputes, and appeals concerning patents, trademarks, trade secrets, and commercial contracts, among other issues.
Ms. Elliott currently serves on the Board of Trustees for the American Intellectual Property Law Education Foundation and the Federal Circuit Lawyers’ Advisory Council. She previously chaired the Third Circuit Lawyers Advisory Committee by appointment of the Chief Judge of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. She also served on the District of Delaware Merit Selection Panels for the US Magistrate Judge and Bankruptcy Judge vacancies.
Prior to joining Latham, she was appointed to serve as a Special Master in the US District Court for the District of Delaware to assist the court in resolving disputes in complex commercial matters. She clerked for Judge Gregory M. Sleet, then Chief Judge of the US District Court for the District of Delaware, and Judge Raymond C. Clevenger of the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
She began her career at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) where she was a computer engineer in the Directorate of Science and Technology and an analyst in the Directorate of Intelligence (now known as the Directorate of Analysis).
Ms. Elliott earned her bachelor’s degree in computer engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, where she attended on both academic and athletic scholarships. She received her law degree from the University of Pennsylvania, where she was senior editor on the Journal of Constitutional Law, and on the Moot Court Board and National Trial Team.
Ms. Elliott is a director of the Christiana Care Health System, where she served on the Executive Committee, chaired the Governance Committee, and currently chairs the Info Tech & Cybersecurity Subcommittee. In addition, Ms. Elliott presently serves on Latham’s Recruiting Committee.
Ms. Elliott is consistently recognized by leading legal publications as a top intellectual property litigation lawyer including The National Law Journal, IAM Patent 1000, Benchmark Litigation, and Managing Intellectual Property, as a Managing IP IP Star.
Ms. Elliott’s representative experience includes:
- Served as lead counsel for Honey Science LLC against RetailMeNot both defensively and offensively in two multi-patent suits involving browser extensions, web technology, and affiliate networks
- Served as lead counsel for a multinational software company in patent litigation relating to multi-level software encryption
- Served as lead counsel for international spice company against competitor in trademark and trade dress litigation involving packaging for food seasoning
- Served as lead counsel for international coffee company in patent litigation involving mobile device software
- Serving as lead counsel for one of the world’s largest rubber and tire companies in patent litigation relating to tire pressure monitoring systems*
- Serving as lead counsel for a multinational computer software company in patent litigation relating to encoding of image data into JPEG files*
- Served as lead counsel for a digital radio company in patent litigation relating to analog and digital signals in voice and data transmissions*
- Served as lead and trial counsel for multinational software company in a shareholder derivative suit in the Delaware Court of Chancery*
- Successfully represented a multinational computer software company in a suit seeking declaratory judgment of non-infringement and invalidity of patents relating to systems and methods for personal computer power management*
- Successfully represented a multinational computer software company in a suit alleging infringement of a patent relating to address handling within electronic documents in computer programs*
- Successfully defended a software company in a suit alleging infringement of patents relating to product activation technology*
- Successfully represented a plaintiff Internet services company in patent litigation relating to billing methods*
- Successfully represented a check processing company in a patent suit relating to the electronic processing of checks at the point of sale through the Automated Clearing House (ACH) network, and in a suit alleging infringement of patents directed to methods and systems for interactive check authorizations using an electronic transaction terminal to gather transaction information at the point of sale*
*Matter handled prior to joining Latham
Thought Leadership
Ms. Elliott regularly speaks at conferences around the country on topical issues within the industry, including:
- Moderator, “District Court Practice: Key Tactical Areas,” FCBA Bench & Bar Conference (June 2019)
- Moderator, ChIPs Federal Circuit Judges Panel (May 2019)
- Panelist, “Hot Topics in Patent Litigation,” Association of Corporate Patent Counsel (June 2018)
- Panelist, “The Ramifications of TC Heartland and Recent Decisions About Venue in Patent Cases,” Federal Circuit Bar Association Program (January 2018)
- Panelist, 187th Annual Charting Your Own Course Career Conference (February 2017)
- Moderator, “District Court Judge’s Panel,” US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit Judicial Conference (2016)
- Panelist, “Effective Communication Styles,” American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) Women in Intellectual Property Global Networking Event (2015)
- Moderator, “Speaking Your Client’s Language: Being a Lawyer and Strategic Advisor,” Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA) Creating Pathways to Diversity Conference (2014)
- Moderator, “On ‘The Record’ with the Judges of the Federal Circuit and District of Delaware,” Federal Bar Association (FBA) Roundtable Discussion (2013)