Biography

Tiffany is a registered patent attorney dedicated to fully leveraging IP into her clients’ overall business strategy. With a career spanning more than two decades, Tiffany’s legal experience canvasses all aspects of a robust IP practice, including IP valuation/monetization, opinions, licensing, and due diligence; patent procurement, portfolio management, and operational freedom; patent litigation and validity challenges; trade secret and unfair competition; trademark procurement and enforcement; and copyright litigation.

Tiffany has worked with clients across a diverse array of technologies, including aviation and nautical (aircraft shell design, cabin interior layout and components, oxygen delivery systems, pilot and passenger seating, aircraft engines, land and water landing gear, and semi-submersible watercraft); medical devices (medication dispensers for skin/oral/nasal/ophthalmic applications, hip/shoulder/knee implants, computerized surgery guides, electrocardiogram devices, aspiration equipment, and COVID-19 testing equipment); electronic devices (mobile data storage devices, internet connectivity routers, and 3D printers), chemicals and materials (industrial coatings and binders, energetic materials, and fire retardant plastics); industrial mechanical (air filtration systems, paper-making equipment, plastic molding and extrusion equipment, fiber twisting devices, rebar joining devices, wall blocks, and interior office glass enclosures); and consumer mechanical (portable food preparation systems, footwear midsoles and uppers, sports equipment, personal cooling devices, clothing, and jewelry).

Prior to embarking on her legal career, Tiffany spent almost a decade honing her skills as a Chemical Engineer, Senior Process Engineer, Quality Systems Manager, and Six Sigma Black Belt at renowned companies such as ExxonMobil Chemical Company, Armstrong World Industries, and Graphic Packaging International (formerly Riverwood International), respectively. Specifically, it was Ms. Williams’ tenure with ExxonMobil Chemical Company, where she worked directly with the R&D group to gather experimental data for patent applications directed to oriented polypropylene film, that led to her decision to pursue a career in patent law.

Prior to joining the firm, Tiffany acquired over fifteen years of experience with Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP (“KT”), where she served as an associate and partner in the Mechanical and Medical Devices Patent Group. While there, she chaired KT’s Patent Best Practices Committee and KT’s Atlanta Office Women’s Initiative. She also taught multiple courses on patent prosecution for KT’s Patent Associate Bootcamp.

Corporate Experience
  • Chemical Engineer, ExxonMobil Chemical Company
  • Senior Process Engineer, Armstrong World Industries
  • Corporate Quality Systems Manager/Six Sigma Black Belt, Graphic Packaging International
Representative Matters
  • Provided comprehensive and aggressive patent protection for a wide range of technologies:
    • Aviation and Nautical: aircraft shell design; cabin interior layout and components; oxygen delivery systems; pilot and passenger seating; aircraft engines; land and water landing gear; and semi-submersible watercraft.
    • Medical Devices: medication dispensers for skin, oral, nasal, and ophthalmic applications; hip/shoulder/knee implants; computerized surgery guides; electrocardiogram devices; aspiration equipment; and COVID-19 testing equipment.
    • Electronic Devices: mobile data storage devices, internet connectivity routers, and 3D printers.
    • Chemical and Materials: industrial coatings and binders; energetic materials; and fire retardant plastics.
    • Industrial Mechanical: air filtration systems, paper-making equipment, plastic molding and extrusion equipment, fiber twisting devices, rebar joining devices, wall blocks, and interior office glass enclosures.
    • Consumer Mechanical: portable food preparation systems; footwear midsoles and uppers; sports equipment; personal cooling devices; clothing; and jewelry.
  • Performed patent due diligence for multiple M&A deals on behalf of acquiring entities.
  • Initiated and defended patent validity challenges before the Patent Trial and Appeals Board (“PTAB”), International Trade Commission (“ITC”), the Federal Circuit, and district court venues.
  • Generated operational freedom opinions (clearance, re-design, and/or invalidity) for emerging products.
  • Negotiated IP license and transfer agreements on behalf of suppliers and customers.
Presentations & Teaching Experience
  • Biomedical Engineering Senior Capstone Course, Georgia Institute of Technology, guest lecturer (2025-present).
  • “Trade Secrets: Let’s Make A Deal!,” KT CLE event, co-presented with Nicki Kennedy (2020).
  • “Licensing Essentials: Practical Tools and Tips in Intellectual Property Licensing,” Georgia State University IP Institute, panel moderator (2018).
  • Georgia Institute of Technology/Emory University TI:GER® program, guest lecturer (2014-2017).
  • “Heels and Appeals-Intellectual Property in the Footwear Industry,” IP Section of GABWA, presenter (2017).
  • “Utilizing U.S. Discovery in Foreign Proceedings: Leverage and Defense Tactics Under 28 U.S.C. § 1782,” Association of Corporate Counsel, co-presented with Susan Cahoon (2017).
  • “Ethical Issues at the Intersection of Patent Prosecution and Litigation”, State Bar of Georgia, panel moderator (2011).
  • “Ethical Conflicts in IP Litigation and Prosecution,” State Bar of Georgia, IP Law Section, panel moderator (2009).
Publications
  • “Patent Portfolio Creation, Management, and Licensing” (KT IP Desk Reference), co-authored with Jim Ewing, Brenda Holmes, Wab Kadaba, Michael Turton, and E.J. Joswick (2015).
  • “The Intellectual Property Transaction: The Basics About Buying and Selling Intellectual Property Assets” (KT IP Desk Reference), co-authored with Michael Pavento, E.J. Joswick, and Renae Wainwright (2015).
  • “Negotiated Corporate Acquisitions-Intellectual Property Issues” (ICLE), co-authored with Mike Pavento (2014).
  • “Illinois Tool Works Inc. v. Independent Ink, Inc.: The Intersection of Patent Law and Antitrust Law in the Context of Patent Tying Arrangements,” Mercer Law Review: Vol. 58: No. 3, Article 11 (2007).
  • “Merck KGaA v. Integra Lifesciences I, Ltd.: Does the Breadth of Safe Harbor Protection Toll the Death Knell For Biotech Research Companies?,” Mercer Law Review: Vol. 57: No. 3, Article 13 (2006).
Awards and Recognitions
  • SuperLawyer by Georgia SuperLawyers®, 2026
  • Rising Star by Georgia SuperLawyers®, 2013-2017
  • Legal Elite – Intellectual Property Law by Georgia Trend®, 2012
Professional Involvement
  • International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (“AIPPI”), member
  • American Bar Association (“ABA”), member
  • American Intellectual Property Law Association (“AIPLA”), member
  • AIPLA, Women in IP Law Section, member
  • Association of Corporate Counsel (“ACC”), editor
  • Chiefs in Intellectual Property (“ChIPs”) Network, USPTO Chapter, member
  • State Bar of Georgia, IP Section, program coordinator
  • Georgia Intellectual Property Alliance®, sponsor
  • Atlanta IP Inn of Court, barrister and pupilage group leader
  • Lawyers Club of Atlanta, member
  • Georgia Institute of Technology, Mock Trial Competition, judge
Community Involvement
  • Georgia Institute of Technology, Capstone Expo, judge
  • Cobb County, GA, Chamber of Commerce, member
  • Cobb County, GA, Executive Women Sub-Committee of the Chamber of Commerce, member
  • Rotary Club of Marietta, GA, Marietta Reads! Program, co-chair
  • Atlanta Metropolitan Counseling Services, board chair
  • Fulton County, GA, Family Court, guardian ad litem
  • Cherokee County, NC, Bear Paw Service District, financial officer

Tiffany L. Williams

Partner

Credentials

Admissions

  • Georgia
  • U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO)

United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

U.S. District Court, Northern District of Georgia

Education

Mercer University School of Law, J.D, 2007, Magna Cum Laude

Georgia Institute of Technology, B. Chemical Engineering, 1996, Highest Honors

Prior Law Firm Experience

Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton, LLP