ERIC M. SOLOVY counsels companies, trade associations, and governments on international trade and intellectual property matters, and litigates disputes over such matters. In 2014, he was named by Law360 Rising Stars as one of the top five international trade attorneys in the United States under the age of 40.
Mr. Solovy focuses on litigation before the World Trade Organization (WTO), having been at the center of some of the most complex and contentious disputes in its history. In the intellectual property area, Mr. Solovy represents clients in litigation before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in complex patent disputes, including in the fields of pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, software, and hardware. In addition, Mr. Solovy combines his experience in both international trade and intellectual property law, and frequently counsels, writes, and lectures on the international trade law and policy aspects of intellectual property protection, including with respect to intellectual property protection in the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement) and various Free Trade Agreements.
In the international trade area, Mr. Solovy has represented governments and counseled interested private parties at every level of dispute settlement proceedings at the WTO, presenting written and oral arguments before WTO panels and the Appellate Body on multiple occasions. Notably, in the high profile dispute over US Government subsidies to Boeing, United States - Measures Affecting Trade in Large Civil Aircraft, Mr. Solovy presented oral arguments before the WTO Appellate Body on behalf of the European Union. Mr. Solovy has litigated WTO disputes in a number of subject areas, and has particular experience in disputes under the TRIPS Agreement, the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (SCM Agreement), the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement), and the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT Agreement). Among other disputes, Mr. Solovy is counsel to Airbus S.A.S. in the WTO disputes between the United States and the European Communities on government support for the large civil aircraft industry, and has served as counsel to Anheuser-Busch in support of a challenge by the United States to the European Communities’ regulation on the protection of geographical indications. He has also participated in ICSID arbitration on behalf of private investors.
Mr. Solovy also advises companies with respect to the ongoing negotiation of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) Agreements, and advocates for their interests with the negotiators of those agreements.
Mr. Solovy also provides advice regarding intellectual property law and policy, including patent, trademark, and copyright issues, and has represented corporate and government clients in cases before district courts, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and the U.S. Supreme Court. He has counseled companies and trade associations in the software industry on the relationship between patents, copyrights, and open source licensing.
In addition to his experience in private practice, Mr. Solovy was a law clerk to the Honorable Pauline Newman of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. He also served in the Office of Legal Adviser of the U.S. Department of State.
Mr. Solovy has served as an adjunct professor of law at the American University Washington College of Law, teaching a course in International & Comparative Patent Law, and continues to provide guest lectures for that course.
