Erik Fountain is a Principal in McKool Smith's Dallas office. Erik’s practice focuses on intellectual property litigation and patent licensing disputes. He has represented companies, as both plaintiffs and defendants, in a variety of fields, including software, cellular, oil field, automotive, and medical device. Erik has significant experience as a stand-up lawyer, having successfully briefed and argued a variety of procedural, discovery, evidentiary, and dispositive motions in venues across the country. He has tried multiple cases to verdict, where he has examined and cross- examined both fact and expert witnesses. Erik has also successfully litigated commercial and intellectual property disputes to final resolution in a variety of private arbitrations.

Erik has considerable experience in patent licensing disputes. In 2019, he was part of a trial team that prevailed in the first-ever breach-of-FRAND jury trial in the Eastern District of Texas. In that same venue, Erik defended a base-station manufacturer against the assertion of more than 20 patents claimed essential to the 4G/LTE wireless standard. Outside of the courtroom, Erik has advised clients as they negotiate licenses to standard-essential-patent portfolios in a variety of technical fields.

Erik also has a track record of successfully litigating trade secret disputes. Erik represented Nevro in a long-running trade secret and patent dispute against Boston Scientific in the District of Delaware. In that same venue Erik is representing I-Mab Biopharma in a trade secret dispute against Inhibrx Inc. related to preclinical and clinical-stage bispecific antibodies.

Erik was named to the Texas Super Lawyers list of "Rising Stars" in 2019 and 2021-2024 and Best Lawyers in America’s inaugural "Ones to Watch" in the field of Intellectual Property Law, Commercial Litigation (2021-2022), and Litigation – Intellectual Property (2021).

Erik previously served as a law clerk to Chief Judge J. Rodney Gilstrap in the Eastern District of Texas, Marshall Division where he assisted the Court in overseeing one of the nation’s busiest civil trial dockets.

Erik graduated magna cum laude and as a member of the Order of the Coif from SMU Dedman School of Law. Prior to law school, Erik graduated with a B.A. in Political Science from Brigham Young University.