Elizabeth G. Borland

Elizabeth G. Borland is a partner in the Intellectual Property Section of Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP.

She focuses her practice on patent, trademark, copyright and trade secret litigation and aids clients in enforcing their intellectual property rights. She also prosecutes trademarks and copyrights for numerous clients and aids them in maintaining their intellectual property portfolios.

Ms. Borland has litigated in patent litigation matters involving various kinds of technology, including poultry processing machines; laminated flooring; motion detector cameras; processes for the manufacture of concrete and cement; firearms training systems; condensate pumps; drive wheel steering lawn mowers; infant monitoring systems; contact lenses; orthopedic braces; plumbing equipment; reverse transcriptase inhibitors; and paper processing equipment. She has also prosecuted and defended numerous trademark and copyright infringement matters, has successfully prosecuted and defended numerous preliminary injunction proceedings, and regularly prosecutes and defends trademark oppositions and cancellations before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

In a recent case, Ms. Borland successfully defended a client against numerous claims based on allegations of false inventorship in a patent application by obtaining a favorable ruling on a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim and obtained an award of sanction under Rule 11 against opposong counsel. Ms. Borland also recently saved a client significant patent litigation costs by obtaining summary judgment on the issue of non-infringement before the start of discovery in the case. In early 2008, Ms. Borland successfully prosecuted a motion for contempt of a consent judgment on behalf of her client.

Ms. Borland received her Bachelors of Science degree in Mathematical Sciences (Computer Science Option) from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1987. In 1988, Ms. Borland completed a summer study program in London, England, through the University of North Carolina. In 1991, she received her Juris Doctor degree, with distinction, from Emory University School of Law, where she served as a Managing Editor of the Emory Law Journal and was a Wayne L. Cardon Scholar. During law school, Ms. Borland completed an internship with Judge Dorothy T. Beasley of the Georgia Court of Appeals. Prior to beginning private practice, Ms. Borland served as a judicial clerk for Judge Wilbur D. Owens, Jr., then-Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia, Macon, Georgia.

Ms. Borland was admitted to the Georgia Bar in June 1991, and is a member of the American Bar Association and the Intellectual Property Law, Entertainment and Sports Law and Technology Sections of the State Bar of Georgia.