Eleanor M. Yost

Over more than two decades, Eleanor Yost has served as lead or trial counsel in hundreds of patent, trademark, copyright, and domain name proceedings before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB), the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), and federal district and appellate courts across the country. 

Eleanor’s practice is built on years of experience in every major intellectual property forum. Her understanding of how they work together gives her clients leverage when prosecuting, enforcing, and defending IP portfolios. As a registered patent attorney, she advises some of the most recognizable brands in the world on the full life cycle of patent, trademark, copyright, and domain name protection, integrating clearance, prosecution, licensing, and enforcement with clients’ product launches and business priorities. And as a trial attorney, she has obtained infringement verdicts for patent owners and defeated preliminary injunction motions seeking relief that would have required clients to rebrand. Notable engagements include serving as lead counsel in the first live hearing of the USPTO's inaugural PTAB AIA Trials Roadshow, a covered business method review resolved favorably for JPMorgan Chase (CBM2014-00157 and CBM2014-00160). She was also trial counsel for OSRAM in In re Certain Light-Emitting Diodes and Products Containing Same, a Section 337 ITC investigation resolved favorably before initial determination. Recently, she defeated nationwide preliminary injunction motions seeking client rebranding in trademark and trade dress actions in the Central District of California and the District of Nevada, and secured appellate reversal of a trial court order dismissing a case before the Eleventh Circuit.

Eleanor is one of four lawyers ranked Tier 1 in Florida for intellectual property law by Legal 500. She has also been repeatedly recognized as a “Global Leader” by the World Trademark Review and listed in the WTR 1000, IAM Patent 1000, and The Best Lawyers in America. She is one of just 133 lawyers certified as an expert in intellectual property law by the Florida Bar, and was invited by the bar to be lead author of the “Fundamentals of Patent Litigation” chapter of the Florida Bar's Business Litigation in Florida (12th and 13th editions). Recently, Thomson Reuters asked her to author "Practical Law: Trademark Laws (Florida)," the Florida entry in its 50-state Q&A series for in-house counsel and practitioners.

She was a founding director of the PTAB Bar Association, the leading national bar association for PTAB practitioners, judges, and other stakeholders, which named her to its inaugural Top 50 Women in PTAB Trials ranking of the women practitioners with the highest numbers of PTAB trial appearances. She was also co-founding chair of its Women's Committee and lead author of PTAB Post Grant Proceedings: A Tactical Guide for Practitioners.

Eleanor also counsels contractors, grant recipients, and transaction teams on the ownership and use of intellectual property developed under federal awards and government contracts, and regularly advises on rights in technical data and software, Bayh-Dole title and march-in rights, and patent-rights and data-rights clauses under the Federal Acquisition Regulation and Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement, including work under DARPA, NIH and other grants. 

Eleanor’s work on technology protection also extends to generative artificial intelligence. She advises boards and general counsel adopting generative AI on rights in training data, ownership and use of outputs, protection of inventions and confidential information, and use of third-party content, together with vendor AI addenda and enterprise use case triage. She is the creator and editor of the AI Employment Law Tracker, a Carlton Fields guide currently tracking AI-related laws, bills, and agency actions across 52 jurisdictions, and was a featured panelist at the Tampa Bay Business Journal's 2026 executive forum “The Workplace Ahead: AI, Talent and the Future of Work.”

Prior to joining Carlton Fields, Eleanor was a partner in an Am Law 25 firm in Washington, D.C., where she was instrumental in launching its government contracts and PTAB practices.

Eleanor is the chair of Carlton Fields' national Intellectual Property, Data & Technology Practice.

Patent Infringement

• Lead counsel for MIA Shoes, QVC, Famous Footwear, DSW, and Stitch Fix in Rothy's Inc. v. MIA Shoes Inc., a patent and trade dress litigation in the District of Delaware concerning footwear.
• Lead counsel for Black & Decker in Tillman v. Stanley Black & Decker Corp., a patent infringement action in the Middle District of Florida.
• Counsel for Microsoft in D3D Technologies Inc. v. Microsoft Corp., a patent infringement litigation in the Middle District of Florida concerning 3D imaging technologies.
• Lead counsel during preliminary injunction and claim construction phases in Rare Breed Triggers LLC v. Big Daddy Unlimited Inc., a patent litigation in the Northern District of Florida involving forced reset triggers for firearms.
• Counsel for Bionpharma in Azurity Pharmaceuticals Inc. v. CoreRx Inc., a patent litigation involving enalapril formulations in the Middle District of Florida. 
• Nichia Corp. v. Healthe Inc., Lighting Science Group Corp., and Vividgro Inc., three patent litigations in the Middle District of Florida about LED technology.
• Hunt Construction, the United States Tennis Association, and USTA National Tennis Center in Uni-Systems Inc. v. USTA, a multiparty patent litigation in the Eastern District of New York concerning retractable stadium roofs.
• Conair and Rite Aid in Tonytail Co., Inc. v. Conair Corp., patent and trade dress litigation in the Northern District of California; obtained a complete victory on all disputed claim construction issues following Markman hearing.
• Patent owner in trial, appellate, and contempt proceedings in ePlus Inc. v. Lawson Software, Inc. in the Eastern District of Virginia.
• JPMorgan Chase in JPMorgan Chase & Co. v. Affiliated Computer Services, Inc., a declaratory judgment action in the District of Delaware involving 10 patents related to financial services and payment processing systems.
• Textron Innovations and Bell Helicopter in Bell Helicopter Textron, Inc. v. Airbus Helicopters cases in the District of Columbia involving patented helicopter landing gear.
• Patent owner in NTP, Inc. v. Sprint Nextel Corp. and NTP, Inc. v. AT&T Mobility, a suit in the Eastern District of Virginia concerning wireless email technology.
• Patent owner in Personalized Media Communications v. Motorola, Inc., EchoStar Corp., and DISH Network Corp., a suit in the Eastern District of Texas concerning telecommunications technology.
• Raisecom in Magnacross LLC v. Raisecom Inc. in the Middle District of Florida.
• International Dental Supply Co. in Midmark Corp. v. International Dental Supply Co. in the Southern District of Florida.
• Patent owner in Augme Technologies, Inc. v. Yahoo! Inc. in the Northern District of California and the Federal Circuit.
• Patent owner in Augme Technologies, Inc. v. Gannett Co., Inc. in the Southern District of New York.
• Patent owner in LucidMedia Networks, Inc. v. Augme Technologies, Inc. in the Eastern District of Virginia concerning online advertising technology.
• Fresenius in Cadence Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Fresenius Kabi USA, LLC, an ANDA litigation in the Southern District of California. 
• Patent owner in Crutchfield Corp. v. Focusrite PLC, a patent litigation in the Western District of Virginia involving speaker technology.
• Anika in Glycobiosciences, Inc. v. Anika Therapeutics, Inc., a multiple-patent case in the District of Columbia concerning wound treatment products.

Trademark Infringement, Trade Secret Misappropriation, Copyright Infringement, and False Advertising 

• Lead counsel for trademark owner GoFundMe in several successful trademark infringement, dilution, and unfair competition litigations, including GoFundMe Inc. v. Monsterfundrise (Southern District of Florida), GoFundMe Inc. v. GoFundHer LLC (Eastern District of New York), and GoFundMe Inc. v. CMG Mortgage Inc. (Northern District of California), and securing the takedown or recovery of hundreds of typosquatted and infringing domains including ofundme.com, gogundme.com, and gofundme.baby, and others.
• Lead counsel for AOCLSC Inc., an affiliate of oil and lubricant giant Amalie Oil Co., in In the Matter of the Trademarks Ordinance Cap. 559 in the defense of an opposition thereto by Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft, a trademark opposition proceeding where carmaker giant Volkswagen opposed Amalie’s application to register the trademark POLO in Hong Kong. Following nearly four years of litigation, the registrar reached a decision in favor of Amalie on all issues.
• Worldwide lead intellectual property counsel for DeMert Brands, maker of the well-known Not Your Mother's line of haircare products managing hundreds of trademarks worldwide and obtaining successful resolutions in EUIPO oppositions, domain and marketplace enforcement, and federal court litigation such as DeMert Brands, LLC v. Not My Mama’s, LLC, No. 8:22-cv-01103 (M.D. Fla.).
• Trademark and copyright owner Lasswell Foundation in successful appeal to the Eleventh Circuit, reversing and remanding order dismissing litigation to the Middle District of Florida in Lasswell Foundation for Learning and Laughter Inc. v. Timothy Schwartz, No. 20-10263 (11th Cir. 2020).
• Lead counsel for Foundation Partners Group in After Services Inc. v. Foundation Partners Group LLC, a trademark infringement action in the District of Nevada.
• Lead counsel for Lennar in Baker v. Lennar Realty Inc., a copyright infringement case in the Southern District of Florida.
• Elio Serpa PLLC v. De Ataide, a trademark infringement action in the Southern District of Florida.
• Lead counsel for trademark owner Island IP Acquisitions in Island IP Acquisitions LLC v. Antle, a trademark infringement action in the Southern District of Florida.
• Lead counsel for Alliance Background in Alliance Risk Group Inc. v. Alliance Background LLC, a trademark infringement action in the Northern District of New York.
• Trademark owner Cigar City Brewing in Cigar City Brewing, Inc. v. Cigar City Smoked Salsa, a trademark infringement action in the Middle District of Florida that settled favorably.
• Counsel in Zinnia Wealth Management LLC v. Zinnia Tech Solutions LLC, a trademark infringement action in the Middle District of Florida.
• Counsel in Florida Virtual School v. K12 Inc., a trademark infringement action in the Middle District of Florida.
• Counsel for Transamerica in Transamerica Corp. v. Retire on Track LLC, a trademark action in the Middle District of Florida.
• Counsel in KELK Corp. v. CCA Industries Inc., a trademark and breach of contract action in the Middle District of Florida.
• Delta Products in SAE Power Inc. v. Avaya Inc. & Delta Products, a trade secret litigation in the District of New Jersey.
• Celentano Food Products Inc. in Celentano Food Products, Inc. v. Dominick Celentano, a trademark infringement and trade secret misappropriation action in the District of New Jersey.
• Thomas Aaron Billiards and The Billiard Connection in Douglas Kelly d/b/a Liberty Billiards v. Thomas Aaron Billiards, defense of trademark infringement action in the District of Maryland, successfully won on summary judgment.

ITC

• OSRAM, as trial counsel, in suit involving eight LG patents concerning LED technology. The case settled favorably prior to initial determination. In re Certain Light-Emitting Diodes and Products Containing Same.
• Complainant against several semiconductor chip packaging companies. In re Certain Semiconductor Chips With Minimized Chip Package Size and Products Containing Same.
• Complainant against suppliers of Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI) technology. In re Certain Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters and Products Containing Same.

PTAB and TTAB

• Publix Asset Management Company v. CFA Properties, Inc., TTAB 91299855
• Foundation Partners Group, LLC v. After Services, TTAB 91298956, 91298957, 91298958, 91298959, 91298968, 91298842, 91296449, 91296450, and 91295505
• Island IP Acquisitions v. Island Company Rum, Inc., TTAB 91296198, 91288442, 91288456, 91286087
• Omni Logistics v. Omnichain Solutions Inc., TTAB 92086817 and 92086818
• Alliance Risk Group Inc. v. Alliance Background, LLC, TTAB 91285650, 91285659, and 91285653
• GoFundMe Inc. v. Carlton Financial Group, TTAB 91281690
• Advanced Concept Innovations, LLC v. All Healthy Medical Technology (Guangdong) Co., TTAB 92076912
• GoFundMe Inc. v. William, TTAB 90790352
• GoFundMe Inc. v. FM7 LLC, TTAB, 91266789
• GoCardless Ltd. V. Guild Technology Inc., TTAB 91271015
• Strike Force Beverage, LLC v. Matbock Origins, LLC, TTAB 91270330
• Traffk, LLC v. Belsito, TTAB 92076669
• Blitz NV, LLC v. All Saints Retail Limited, TTAB 91252633
• Bombas LLC v. Just Bee Queen, LLC, TTAB 91251661 and 91251662
• Unwired Planet, LLC v. Square, Inc. (Fed. Cir. 2016)
• IPR2016-00254, Petition for Inter Partes Review by J. Kyle Bass.
• Unwired Planet, LLC v. Google, Inc. (Fed. Cir. 2016).
• CBM2014-00157 and CBM2014-00160, Petition for Covered Business Method Patent Review by J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.
• IPR2014-01164 and IPR2014-01165, Petition for Inter Partes Review by Square Inc.
• IPR2014-01527, IPR2014-01528, IPR2014-01530, IPR2014-01531, IPR2014-01532, IPR2014-01533, and IPR2014-01534 Petition for Inter Partes Review by Amazon.com Inc.
• IPR2015-00239, IPR2015-00240, IPR2015-00241, IPR2015-00242, IPR2015-00243, and IPR2015-00247, Petition for Inter Partes Review by 2Wire Inc.
• IPR2015-00503, Petition for Inter Partes Review by Agila Specialties Inc.
• IPR2015-00520 and IPR2015-00521, Petition for Inter Partes Review by Unified Patents Inc.
• IPR2015-00715, Petition for Inter Partes Review by Dr. Reddy’s.
• IPR2015-00643, IPR2015-00644, and IPR2015-00830, Petition for Inter Partes Review by Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc.

• Board Certified in Intellectual Property Law by the Florida Bar
• The Best Lawyers in America, Intellectual Property Litigation (2023–2027)
• WTR 1000 (2022–2025); WTR Global Leaders (2024–2025)
• IAM Patent 1000 (2026)
• Legal 500 City Elite, Intellectual Property (2026)
• Legal Elite Notable Intellectual Property Attorneys, Florida Trend Magazine (2026)
• Legal Elite Notable Women Leaders in Law, Florida Trend Magazine (2025)
• Top 50 Women in PTAB Trials, PTAB Bar Association (inaugural)
• Washington, D.C., Rising Stars, Super Lawyers Magazine (2014–2018)

• PTAB Bar Association
  • Founding Director, Board of Directors
  • Founding Co-Chair, Women’s Committee
• Intellectual Property Owners Association
  • AI, Data & New Emerging Technologies Committee
  • Lead Author, IPO Response to USPTO Request for Comments on America Invents Act Post-Grant Proceedings
  • Committee of the Year Honoree (2018)
• Federal Bar Association, Tampa Chapter
• ChIPs, Florida Regional Chapter
• International Trademark Association

• "The Workplace Ahead: AI, Talent and the Future of Work,” Tampa Bay Business Journal, Tampa, FL (August 5, 2026)
• "Brexit & Beyond: The Top IP Issues," Hillsborough County Bar Association (February 4, 2021)
• "Intellectual Property and Employment Law Considerations for Online Learning," Carlton Fields (August 11, 2020)
• "Ethics Before the PTAB," PTAB Bar Association Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C. (March 2019)
• "Navigating the Interplay of Parallel Litigation With a PTAB Proceeding,” PTAB Bar Association Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C. (March 22–23, 2018)
• "Advice of Counsel Defense in Patent Litigation: Protecting Attorney-Client Privilege," Webinar (March 16, 2017)
• "PTAB Bootcamp – Nuts and Bolts of IPRs, PGRs, and CBMs,” PTAB Bar Association Inaugural Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C. (March 1–3, 2017)
• "Advanced Licensing Agreements," Program Faculty, Practising Law Institute
• "Patent Law," Program Faculty, Practising Law Institute
• "Interpreting What the Past 12 Months of CBM Challenges and IPR and PGR Proceedings Reveal About Party Successes and Failures Across Industries," IP Counsel Exchange on Post-Grant Patent Challenges at the PTAB, San Jose, CA (March 30–31, 2015)
• "Oyez, Oyez, Oyez! Analyzing the Impact of the Supreme Court’s Decisions in Alice Corp. and Nautilus on AIA Post-Grant Proceedings," ACI's Inaugural Conference on Post-Grant PTO Proceedings, New York, NY (March 25–26, 2015)
• IP Strategy Summit: Enforcement, New York, NY (June 10, 2014)
• Licensing Executive Society's Life Sciences Sector Conference (2014)
• "Software Licensing Boot Camp: Drafting Contracts That Meet Current Business Needs While Avoiding Unwanted Outcomes," ACI Annual the Practical and Tactical Art of the Deal in Software Agreements – Cloud, SaaS, Open Source & Licensing
• "Patent Infringement: Structuring Opinions of Counsel: Leveraging Opinion Letters to Reduce the Risks of Liability and Enhanced Damages," Strafford Publications Inc.
• "Trademark Transactions: Doing Deals – From Due Diligence to Ink. An International Perspective," IPO Annual Meeting, Los Angeles, CA (September 11–13, 2011)

• Partner, Goodwin Procter LLP, Washington, D.C.
• Associate, Hiscock & Barclay LLP, Rochester, NY