Arthur A. Gardner
Founder | Patent Attorney | Intellectual Property Litigation
Arthur A. Gardner is the founder of Gardner IP Law, P.C., an Atlanta intellectual property law firm established in 1995. With more than 38 years of legal experience, he represents inventors, businesses, and innovators in patent, trademark, copyright, and trade secret matters. The firm, formerly Gardner Groff Greenwald & Villanueva, P.C., grew to 16 attorneys at its peak.
Federal Litigation and Appellate Advocacy
Mr. Gardner has extensive experience litigating intellectual property disputes in United States District Courts and Courts of Appeals. His practice encompasses patent infringement, trademark infringement, copyright infringement, trade secret misappropriation, and related commercial disputes.
His appellate experience includes successful appeals before the United States Courts of Appeals for the Ninth and Eleventh Circuits, including the reversal of an adverse summary judgment in a trademark infringement action. He has also participated in matters before the Supreme Court of the United States, including personally preparing and filing a petition for a writ of certiorari.
Particularly experienced in complex legal analysis, dispositive motions, and appellate briefing, Mr. Gardner brings a meticulous, research-intensive approach to litigation.
Patent and Trademark Practice
In addition to litigation, Mr. Gardner represents clients in patent preparation and prosecution, trademark registration, intellectual property counseling, licensing, and enforcement.
His transactional experience includes negotiating and completing multimillion-dollar patent licensing and assignment agreements involving inventions for which he personally prepared and prosecuted the underlying patents.
Engineering and Technical Background
Unlike some intellectual property attorneys, Mr. Gardner's technical experience extends well beyond his engineering education.
Before entering the legal profession, he spent ten years as a professional German automotive mechanic, developing extensive practical knowledge of mechanical systems, machinery, and manufacturing technologies.
After earning his Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1983, he joined Lockheed as a manufacturing engineer and subsequently worked as a computer systems analyst designing sophisticated database systems.
This unusual combination of hands-on mechanical experience, formal engineering education, and computer systems expertise enables him to work effectively with inventors, engineers, scientists, and developers across a broad range of technologies.
His technical practice encompasses mechanical systems, industrial equipment, electronics, computer architectures, software, communications, and emerging technologies.
Technology, Artificial Intelligence, and Legal Practice
Mr. Gardner embraces advanced artificial intelligence tools as powerful aids to legal research, analysis, and litigation preparation, while maintaining rigorous standards of independent attorney verification.
He has developed a research verification protocol designed to ensure that legal authorities cited in court filings are drawn from reliable conventional research databases and independently reviewed by an attorney for accuracy and applicability.
His approach combines emerging legal technologies with the judgment acquired through decades of complex federal litigation.
Professional Recognition and Leadership
Mr. Gardner holds Martindale-Hubbell's prestigious AV Preeminent Judicial Edition rating, reflecting exceptional professional recognition for legal ability and ethical standards.
He is also the founder of SpringPosium®, an intellectual property law symposium bringing together attorneys, scholars, and industry professionals to examine developments in intellectual property law and technology.
Mr. Gardner received his Juris Doctor from Georgia State University in 1988 and his Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1983. He is admitted to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office and multiple federal trial and appellate courts, including the Supreme Court of the United States.
