Reading Between the Lines: Making Sense of Source Code in IP Litigation (Presented by the Federal Bar Association’s Intellectual Property Section)

Bert Schiettecatte, Founder | Noisetron LLC

Bert Schiettecatte is a consulting and testifying expert witness and the founder of Noisetron LLC, bringing over 30 years of software and hardware engineering experience to complex patent infringement, trade secret misappropriation, and breach-of-contract disputes.

• Education & Credentials

Bert frequently lectures on source code review for legal organizations including NYIPLA, OCBA, and the State Bar of Texas, and holds graduate degrees from Stanford University and Vrije Universiteit Brussel (summa cum laude)
His graduate degrees are an MSc/CS from Vrije Universiteit Brussel (summa cum laude) and an MA/MST from Stanford University’s CCRMA.

• Recognition & Leadership

His invention of AudioCubes, a tangible user interface system, earned the Qwartz Max Mathews Award. He is a fellow of the Belgian-American Educational Foundation (BAEF), an honorary Fulbright fellow, and a recipient of the Audio Engineering Society (AES) Educational Foundation Grant.

• Professional Involvement

He is a member of the IEEE and the IEEE Computer Society and an associate member of the AES. His published work spans tangible interfaces, real-time acoustics, and real-time software performance, and he taught information theory and digital signal processing to graduate students at Leuven Catholic University (KUL) and Brussels Free University (VUB) as a teaching assistant.

• Experience

His technical background spans system architecture and software development across desktop, server, mobile, and embedded hardware platforms. He specializes in real-time applications, including audio and video processing, wireless communication, and low-latency algorithmic trading, directly informing his work in deep-dive source code review and forensic analysis. Earlier, he founded Percussa, where he engineered multichannel audio signal processing platforms and award-winning wireless tangible user interfaces, and co-founded a stealth proprietary trading startup developing software and algorithms for crypto and futures markets.

Padmaja Chinta, Partner | Dunnington Bartholow & Miller

Padmaja Chinta is a partner at Dunnington Bartholow & Miller where she represents med-tech innovators, pharmaceutical leaders, and technology companies in patent and trade secret litigation across the U.S. – cases where innovation and business continuity are on the line.

• Education & Credentials

Padmaja earned her LL.M. at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where she was elected President of the LL.M. Association. She is admitted to practice in New York, the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, before the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, and at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

• Recognition & Leadership

Padmaja is a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America, ranked by Legal500 NY Elite for intellectual property, and a NY Super Lawyer.

• Professional Involvement

She is a past chair of the FBA’s IP Section and the current vice-president for second circuit.

• Experience

She has obtained significant victories in claim constructions, summary judgment, TROs, pre-trial, and §101 motions to dismiss for her clients.

Micah Block, Partner | Davis Polk

A partner in Davis Polk’s IP Litigation group, Micah represents major corporations in must-win cases.

• Education & Credentials

Micah earned his J.D. from Stanford Law School, where he was elected to the Order of the Coif, and his B.A. in Ethics, Politics and Economics from Yale University, magna cum laude. He clerked for Hon. Raymond C. Fisher of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (2009–2010), and is admitted in California and before federal courts including the Federal Circuit, the Ninth Circuit, and the U.S. Supreme Court.

• Recognition & Leadership

Among other industry recognition, Micah is recognized for patent litigation by IAM and Chambers, where clients describe him as “a very deep and creative thinker” and “a superstar of the future.” Micah serves as the co-hiring partner of Davis Polk’s Northern California office.

• Professional Involvement

He maintains an active pro bono practice with a focus on civil rights, criminal justice and immigration matters.

• Experience

He litigates patent, trade-secret, antitrust and other matters for clients including Apple, Cisco, Comcast, JPMorgan, Novo Nordisk, Plaid, the United States Golf Association and Verisk Analytics. Micah is a seasoned trial lawyer with a deep understanding of technology and a proven track record of success.

SESSION 1 – Reading Between the Lines: Making Sense of Source Code in IP Litigation | Bert Schiettecatte & Micah Block & Padmaja Chinta | 2:00pm – 3:00pm

Source-code review can be critical—and challenging—in patent and IP litigation. This practical panel brings together an IP and technology litigator, a software/code expert, and an IP litigation moderator to explore how to approach source-code review effectively, from identifying the right code, to connecting it to the issues in the case, working with consulting and testifying technical experts and presenting findings in litigation. The panel will highlight common pitfalls, practical strategies, and lessons learned for turning complex source-code evidence into a clear and persuasive case.