Education

  • Yale Law School, J.D. (2015)
  • Stanford University, Phi Beta Kappa (2012)

Admissions

  • District of Columbia
  • New York
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

Adam Adler is a trial and appellate attorney whose practice focuses on intellectual property disputes and creators’ rights. Adam leverages his training as a computer scientist and author to present complex concepts in ways that are persuasive, entertaining, and easy to understand.

Adam has helped clients navigate complex disputes relating to a wide array of cutting-edge technology, including cryptocurrency platforms, digital security, deepfake applications, and machine learning.

In April 2024, Adam secured a $525 million patent infringement verdict for Kove IO against tech behemoth Amazon Web Services (AWS). He spearheaded and developed Kove’s damages theory.  At trial he presented the direct examination of Kove’s damages expert and showed how Amazon obtained over $1 billion in profits from its use of the Kove patents. Adam also cross-examined the lead-engineers for Amazon’s storage and database products. Earlier in the case, he deposed Amazon’s CEO (Andy Jassy), as well as Amazon’s CTO and the CEO of Square.

Adam also helped secure an $84.5 million patent verdict for Cirba (d/b/a Densify) in a hard-fought case against VMware. He helped Cirba navigate and prevail on case-dispositive standing issues, briefed and argued claim construction, and obtained favorable outcomes in key discovery disputes.

Adam maintains a robust practice relating to copyrights and trademarks. In 2023, he secured the repeal of Blackbeard’s Law on behalf of famed underwater videographer Rick Allen. The law—which purported to place Allen’s life work in the public domain—was used by North Carolina to justify large-scale copyright infringement. Adam has also counseled clients on how to avoid liability for alleged infringement, and has successfully negotiated on clients’ behalf with major industry groups, including with the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the National Association of Voice Actors (NAVA).

Adam has also delivered results in contentious proceedings in the Patent and Trademark Office, both at the examination stage and before the Trademark Trial and Appeals Board.

Because of his work, Adam was named to Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch for Intellectual Property.  Adam has also been featured in the Los Angeles Business Journal, The Daily Journal, and Law360. Most recently, Adam was named a Law360 “Legal Lion of the Week” after securing a $525 million verdict in a patent infringement case against Amazon Web Services.

Adam is a thought-leader and a prolific writer. As a regular contributor for Escapist Magazine, Adam has authored dozens of articles exploring the intersection of law with video games, movies, and comic books. Adam also serves on the faculty at Lawline and is a frequent guest lecturer at George Washington University Law School. Beyond his professional endeavors, Adam teaches introductory moral philosophy to high school and college students. In his leisure time, he enjoys juggling, writing, and playing the French Horn.

Representative Matters

 Over the years, Adam has delivered real results for his clients:

  • Secured a $525 million patent infringement verdict for Kove IO against AWS. The Kove patents provide foundational technology needed to run Amazon.com and Amazon’s massively used cloud storage infrastructure. 

    Adam spearheaded and developed Kove’s damages theory. At trial, Adam presented the direct examination of Kove’s damages expert and showed how Amazon obtained over $1 billion in profits from its use of the Kove patents. He also cross-examined the lead-engineers for Amazon’s storage and database products.

    Earlier in the case, Adam deposed Amazon’s CEO (Andy Jassy), as well as Amazon’s CTO and the CEO of Square.

    After eight days of trial, the jury unanimously concluded that Amazon had infringed each of the claims asserted in the case, and awarded Kove several million dollars more than what Kove requested. IAM highlighted the win as the highest patent jury verdict of the year, and a top-10 verdict from the last decade.

  • Secured the repeal of Blackbeard’s Law on behalf of Rick Allen, famed underwater photographer, videographer, and documentarian of Queen Anne’s Revenge (QAR). In 2015, North Carolina enacted Blackbeard’s Law, which purported to place all of Allen’s footage in the public domain, and enabled wide-scale copyright infringement.

    Allen sued, and the case went all the way up to the Supreme Court of the United States. On remand, Adam prepared a Second Amended Complaint. After reviewing the Second Amended Complaint and associated briefing, North Carolina repealed the law, marking a long-awaited victory for Allen.

  • Helped obtain an $84.5 million patent verdict for Cirba (d/b/a Densify) in a hard-fought case against VMware. Adam helped Cirba navigate and prevail on case-dispositive standing issues, briefed and argued claim construction, and obtained favorable outcomes in key discovery disputes.

  • Obtained a favorable settlement for Cloud 9 Comics & More in a trademark dispute between two comic shops with the same name. Adam’s client retains the right to own and use the Cloud 9 Comics name.

  • Represented Arconic in Arconic, Inc. v. Novelis Inc., a contentious antitrust and trade secret case regarding the theft of trade secrets relating to a process for pretreating automotive aluminum used in Ford’s popular F-150 pickup truck. Adam built out Arconic’s antitrust defense and took key depositions of Novelis executives and damages expert. These led to favorable summary judgment rulings and settlement.

  • Represents Superbabies Limited in its efforts to obtain a federal trademark registration over the name Superbabies, over an opposition from DC Comics.

  • Successfully counseled a major seller of digital collectibles in a dispute regarding the theft of intellectual property.

  • Represented a startup in discussions with major industry organizations regarding the development and use of dynamic voice models.

  • Represented the International Code Council (ICC) in a copyright dispute relating to the widescale theft, copying, and distribution of ICC’s building codes by a prominent startup.

Rankings & HONORS

  • Gallagher Prize for Most Proficient Presentation in Barristers’ Union Mock Trial Competition, Yale Law School

  • Semi-Finalist in Morris Tyler Moot Court Competition, Yale Law School

  • Boothe Prize Award for Excellence in Writing, Stanford University

speaking engagements

  • “Westlaw Under the Hood: A Simple Explanation of How Big Databases Work,” Morgan, Lewis, & Bockius, Washington, D.C.

  • “Calculating Justice: The Role of Math, Physics, and Computer Science in Law,” Andrews University

  • “Prosecuting a Paradox: Time Travel in Criminal Law,” World Bank’s International Finance Corporation

  • “Why do So Many Startups Get It Wrong?,” Yale Law School

  • “Difficult Depositions & You: A Guide to Challenging Discovery,” at Reichman Jorgensen Lehman & Feldberg

  • “West Viriginia v. EPA: Understanding the Significant Questions Doctrine” at Lewis-Burke Associates

  • “Oracle v. Google: The Transformation of Transformative Fair Use,” at Reichman Jorgensen Lehman & Feldberg

publications