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Adam S. Baldridge

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Adam Baldridge concentrates his practice in intellectual property and technology litigation, with extensive first chair experience in patent, trade secret, trademark, trade dress, unfair competition, copyright, and right-of-publicity cases, as well as obtaining, managing, and enforcing trademark and trade secret portfolios for clients in the artificial intelligence, home durable goods, restaurant services, automotive, clothing and apparel, health and medical, and senior and assisted living industries.

Featured Experience


Successfully defended a publicly traded company in a trade secret misappropriation case in Delaware Chancery Court involving technical information related to the manufacture of plastic films.

Successfully represented the designer and manufacturer of cheerleading apparel in a copyright infringement suit, including successful appeal to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, which was affirmed by a 6-2 decision of the United States Supreme Court, where the Supreme Court established a new standard and resolved a circuit-split regarding the proper test for conceptual separability and copyrightability applicable for two-dimensional artwork applied to useful articles.

Successfully defended a patent infringement suit against the client, which resulted in patentee surrendering patent rights through formal disclaimer.

Professional Biography


Mr. Baldridge is currently chair of Baker Donelson's Intellectual Property Group and concentrates his practice in intellectual property and technology litigation. He is listed in The Best Lawyers in America® in Intellectual Property Litigation, Patent Litigation, Trademark Law, and Copyright Law. He has extensive experience in patent, trade secret, trademark, trade dress, unfair competition, copyright, and right-of-publicity disputes.

Mr. Baldridge represents clients before many district courts throughout the United States and has first chair experience in numerous patent infringement matters, including patent infringement matters in Delaware District Court, high stakes trade secret misappropriation matters in Delaware Chancery Court, and trademark and copyright lawsuits throughout the United States. He has also represented clients before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court. He also represents clients on a regular basis in cancellation and opposition matters before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board of the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Mr. Baldridge advises a wide variety of clients, including publicly traded companies as well as mid-size and small businesses, start-ups, and individuals, and helps his clients obtain and maintain their competitive advantages in the marketplace through intellectual property procurement and through litigation. Mr. Baldridge also counsels clients on how to avoid infringement of the intellectual property rights of others and defends clients in intellectual property cases across the United States. Mr. Baldridge has been involved in numerous licensing disputes. He has drafted and negotiated numerous license agreements for patents, trade secrets, trademarks, and copyrights. Mr. Baldridge helps his clients obtain and maintain large and small trademark portfolios in the United States and abroad as well as prosecutes infringers and defends accused clients in patent, trade secret, trademark, trade dress, and unfair competition litigation throughout the country.

Additionally, he helps clients implement corporate procedures and policies to protect proprietary and trade secret information from use by unauthorized persons and to avoid inadvertent disclosure. He frequently provides training for his clients and their employees on how to properly handle trade secrets of the company. Mr. Baldridge frequently advises clients regarding non-disclosure and confidentiality obligations and agreements, helping his clients protect intangible assets as well as developing creative solutions for clients on how to avoid breaching non-disclosure obligations.

Mr. Baldridge helps clients protect their creative works through copyright registrations obtained from the United States Copyright Office and through litigation. He also helps clients facilitate and pursue business opportunities related to their creative works.

In addition to advising clients on how best to protect and enforce their rights in creative works, Mr. Baldridge is involved in the music recording stratum and spends time in recording studios writing songs and providing engineering, production, and legal assistance.

Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Baldridge was a judicial law clerk for the Honorable Judge J. Daniel Breen of the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee.

  • Patent

  • Successfully defended a publicly traded company in a patent infringement lawsuit in Delaware District Court, which resulted in the invalidation of seven of the eight patents asserted against the client and facilitated the successful resolution of the matter, allowing the client to continue to compete in the marketplace with the accused product.

  • Successfully achieved dismissal of two patent infringement lawsuits in Eastern District of Virginia filed against the client.

  • Successfully defended a patent infringement suit against the client, which resulted in patentee surrendering patent rights through formal disclaimer.

  • Prosecuted a patent infringement case in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas and obtained permanent injunction against the defendant, prohibiting further competition in the marketplace.

  • Represented inventors in a complex patent infringement case in which the court ruled in the client's favor on the ultimate question of patent infringement and on the dispositive issue of the on-sale bar under 35 U.S.C. § 102(b).

  • Obtained summary judgment in the client's favor, defeating an allegation that the client's design patents were invalid as functional and obtained summary judgment disposing of the infringer's defenses of implied license and alleged tying arrangement.

  • Helped the client obtain preliminary injunctions in two patent infringement actions in the United States District Court in the Middle District of Tennessee.

  • Successfully negotiated the dispute of multiple patents through a complex licensing agreement.

  • Trade Secrets

  • Successfully defended a publicly traded company in a trade secret misappropriation case in Delaware Chancery Court involving technical information related to the manufacture of plastic films.

  • Represented the client in a trade secret misappropriation case involving software and algorithms trade secrets, which resulted in a month-long jury trial, a successful jury verdict awarding significant compensatory damages award, and a finding of willful and malicious misappropriation leading to an award of attorney's fees and exemplary damages.

  • Successfully defeated a preliminary injunction motion and resolved the case in the client's favor involving claims of trade secret misappropriation and copyright infringement involving computer programs and electronic artwork.

  • Successfully defended a high stakes trade secret misappropriation case involving medical procedures, customer lists, customer preferences, and software programs.

  • Successfully prosecuted a large trade secret misappropriation case resulting from failed business acquisition and violations of non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements.

  • Successfully defended a trade secret case in the Southern District of Florida involving Bluetooth® technology due to novel argument based on the intersection of Florida statutory law regarding restrictive covenants and Florida trade secret law.

  • Frequently provide training to clients on best practices for protecting and maintaining a client's trade secrets

  • Trademark & Copyright

  • Outside intellectual property litigation counsel for trademark and copyright infringement matters for a professional sports team and arena.

  • Successfully represented the designer and manufacturer of cheerleading apparel in a copyright infringement suit, including successful appeal to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, which was affirmed by a 6-2 decision of the United States Supreme Court, where the Supreme Court established a new standard and resolved a circuit-split regarding the proper test for conceptual separability and copyrightability applicable for two-dimensional artwork applied to useful articles.

  • Manage and enforce large international trademark portfolios for clients in the artificial intelligence (AI) software and AI services; consumer and cosmetics; building materials; food products and restaurant services; automotive; clothing and apparel; health and medical services; and senior and assisted living facilities, including providing brand advice and strategy for growth.

  • Outside IP counsel for multiple consumer goods manufacturers and resellers.

  • Successfully represented a multi-national corporation in a complex copyright dispute brought by an actor involving the actor's performance in print advertisements, radio spots, and television commercials used in a large scale advertising campaign.

  • Successfully represented the client in a large dispute involving copyright infringement claims for photographs sold on eBay.

  • Represented the client and performed extensive due diligence in the acquisition of large patent and trademark portfolios.

  • Successfully defended against claims of trade dress infringement and trademark infringement directed to consumer product labels.

  • Advised the client in the negotiation and purchase of a large trademark portfolio from a competitor.

  • Listed in The Best Lawyers in America® for Litigation - Intellectual Property, Copyright Law, Patent Litigation and Trademark Law (2011 – 2025)
  • Named the Best Lawyers® 2025 Trademark Law "Lawyer of the Year" in Memphis
  • Named the Best Lawyers® 2022 Litigation - Intellectual Property "Lawyer of the Year" in Memphis
  • Editorial Board – Intellectual Property Magazine, Landslide®, a publication of the American Bar Association's Section of Intellectual Property Law (2009 – 2021)
  • Selected to Mid-South Super Lawyers in IP Litigation (2020 – 2023)
  • Listed in Rising Stars by Mid-South Super Lawyers in Intellectual Property Litigation (2009, 2011 – 2019) 
  • Named a 2013 "Mid-South Power Player" in Entertainment Law, Memphis Business Quarterly (now Inside Memphis Business)
  • Fellow – Memphis Bar Foundation, awarded to approximately one percent of Memphis area attorneys
  • Member – American Bar Association (ABA): Intellectual Property Law Section (Former Vice Chair, Copyright Litigation Committee)
  • Member – American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA); Tennessee Intellectual Property Law Association (TIPLA); Tennessee Bar Association (TBA); Memphis Bar Association (MBA) 
  • Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar – Columbia University School of Law
  • Columbia Journal of Environmental Law, Executive Editor
  • Member – Golden Key National Honor Society
  • Member – Beta Alpha Psi Accounting Fraternity
  • Judicial clerk for the Honorable Chief Judge J. Daniel Breen of the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee
  • "Defend Trade Secrets Act," ABA Intellectual Property Litigation Roundtable Series (May 2016)
  • "What Songwriters Need To Know About Intellectual Property," The Greater Memphis Songwriter's Guild (2015)
  • Speaker and Panelist – Intellectual Property Panel for Life Science Tennessee Annual Conference & Venture Forum (2015)
  • Speaker and Panelist – "Non-Practicing Entities and Patent Reform," the Honorable Jon P. McCalla moderating (November 2014)
  • "Expert Witnesses in Intellectual Property Cases," U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee and the Honorable Bernice Donald, Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, hosting delegation of Bosnian Judges (May 2011)

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