Rob Carroll is a first-chair trial lawyer with more than 20 years of experience. He is a partner in Goodwin’s IP Litigation group, and is a member of the firm’s Life Sciences Disputes group. World Trademark Review describes him as a “[t]errific advocate” with “a glittering track record in contentious mandates. He has the ability to filter down all possible arguments to the ones viable in court and can then use his superior judgment to pick a winning choice – being able to accurately evaluate the benefits of all positions is his main strength.”
He has experience in intellectual property litigation and counseling, including trade secret, patent, trademark, copyright, false advertising, and unfair competition matters. He also has experience in complex antitrust and business litigation and arbitration, with a particular focus on the life sciences industry.
In 2011, Rob received the firm’s Robert B. Fraser Pro Bono Award for his work providing pro bono legal services for asylum applicants and unaccompanied minors in immigration proceedings.
Rob leads the Litigation Department in Boston and is a former chair of the Attorney Review Committee.
Representative Matters
Rob has experience in trade secret, copyright, patent and false advertising disputes as well as trademark litigation, both in federal court and before the Trademark Trial & Appeal Board. His recent experience includes representing:
- Insulet Corporation in a trade secret jury trial victory against EOFlow Co. Ltd., one of the largest trade secret jury awards in the history of the DTSA, followed by a worldwide permanent injunction
- Zealand Pharma against Amyndas Pharmaceuticals in defense of alleged breach of confidentiality agreements and trade secret misappropriation related to complement-targeted therapeutics
- Palleon Pharmaceuticals against Aviceda Therapeutics in trade secret case concerning therapies used to treat glycan-mediated disorders
- Corbus Pharmaceuticals against Venn Therapeutics in defense of alleged trade secret misappropriation claims concerning monoclonal antibody therapies aimed at inhibiting integrin αvβ8
- Varsity Brands in a 6-2 copyright victory before the U.S. Supreme Court in Star Athletica, LLC v. Varsity Brands, Inc.
- B&B Hardware in a 7-2 trademark victory before the U.S. Supreme Court in B&B Hardware, Inc. v. Hargis Industries, Inc.
- Honest Tea in defense of a false advertising class action
- Nuance Communications, Inc. in multiple trade secret and non-competition disputes
Rob has experience in a broad range of business litigation and arbitration, with a particular focus on disputes for life sciences companies arising under patent licenses, joint development agreements, and supply, manufacturing and quality agreements. His recent experience includes representing:
- BeOne Medicines (f/k/a BeiGene) in an ICC arbitration against Bristol-Myers Squibb in a dispute arising from license and distribution agreement concerning oncology therapy, resulting in a recovery of approximately $340 million by BeOne.
- Intellia Therapeutics in a JAMS arbitration against Caribou Biosciences, in a dispute arising from license and royalty agreement concerning CRISPR/Cas9.
- Radius Health, Inc. in an ICC arbitration against Ipsen Pharma, S.A. arising from a license and co-promotion agreement
- Guerbet Ireland Unlimited in an ICC arbitration and parallel litigation against SpecGX, LLC arising from supply and quality agreements
- Multiple life sciences companies in confidential arbitrations under the ICC, JAMS, and AAA arbitration rules
- Investment funds in recovering more than $900 million from the Republic of Argentina in what the Financial Times called the “sovereign debt trial of the century”
Rob's recent experience in antitrust litigation and government investigations includes representing:
- Teva Pharmaceuticals, USA and Barr Laboratories in defense of putative class actions challenging settlement of Hatch-Waxman litigation concerning Aggrenox®
- Teva Pharmaceuticals, USA and Barr Laboratories in defense of putative class actions challenging settlement of Hatch-Waxman litigation concerning Solodyn®
- Royal Bank of Scotland and affiliates in In re Credit Card Interchange Antitrust Litigation
- Defendants in multiple confidential investigations before federal and state antitrust agencies
Areas of Practice
Professional Activities
Rob serves on the board of directors of civil legal aid provider Greater Boston Legal Services. He is a member of the International Trademark Association, for which he serves on the Emerging Issues Committee and previously served on the U.S. Legislation and Regulation Committee and the U.S. Amicus Committee. He has provided pro bono legal services for numerous asylum applicants and unaccompanied minors in immigration proceedings.
Professional Experience
Before joining Goodwin, Rob was a litigation associate at Debevoise & Plimpton LLP.
Credentials
Education
JD2001
Yale Law School
(Coker Fellow)
Artium Baccalaureus1997
Duke University
(summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa)
Clerkships
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, Honorable Edward R. Becker
Admissions
Bars
- Massachusetts
- New York
Courts
- U.S. Supreme Court
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado
- U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
Recognition & Awards
Rob has been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America for his work in Copyright Law, Litigation – Intellectual Property and Litigation - Patent 2022-2026.
Rob and Goodwin were recognized by the American Lawyer with the Grand Prize for Global Dispute of the Year (2016) for their representation of creditors in a sovereign debt dispute against the Republic of Argentina. Rob has been selected as a Massachusetts Super Lawyer by Law & Politics and Boston magazine in every year since 2015, and prior to that as a “Rising Star.” Rob is consistently ranked in the WTR-1000, World Trademark Review’s guide to the world’s leading trademark professionals. In law school, he served as Book & Case Notes Editor of the Yale Law Journal and as an Articles Editor of the Yale Journal of International Law.
Publications
Rob’s presentations and publications include:
- “AI & Drug Discovery Symposium: Revolutionizing the Future of Medicine,” Boston, MA, 2025
- “Three Steps to Manage Copyright Risk When Using Generative AI to Write Code,” Goodwin Insights, 2025
- “DC Circuit Holds That AI Cannot Be an Author Under Copyright Law,” Goodwin Alert, 2025
- “Supreme Court Curtails Disgorgement in Trademark Infringement Case,” Goodwin Alert, 2025
- “Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016: Congress Enacts Federal Civil Trade Secret Protections,” PLI, 2016
- ”B&B Hardware v. Hargis Industries: Supreme Court Gives New Life to Preclusion in Trademark Proceedings and Other Agency Litigation,” PLI, 2015
- “U.S. Trade Secret Law: Issues and Best Practices for Non-U.S. Companies,” Shenzhen, China, 2014
- “Patent Litigation Before the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation and Before MDL Courts,” PLI, 2013
- “Assoc. for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad: Isolated Human DNA is Not Patent-Eligible Subject Matter,” PLI, 2013
- “Recent Developments in Patent Law and Their Impact on Patent Litigation,” PLI, 2010-2012
- “Caraco v. Novo Nordisk: Supreme Court Alters the Landscape of Hatch-Waxman Litigation,” PLI, 2012
- “Therasense: Reshaping the Inequitable Conduct Doctrine,” PLI, 2011
- “10 Simple Steps to Ensure Software Licensing Compliance,” IP Law360, 2008
From 2002 to 2004, Rob edited revisions to Copyright Law: A Practitioner's Guide (PLI).