Patent Litigation
We have been lead counsel in over 200 patent cases, appearing in every major forum in the United States. We have represented Fortune 100 companies such as AT&T, Siemens, Nintendo, LG, Samsung, DISH Network, NEC, and McKesson, mid-cap companies such as Verint, Witness Systems, Nitto Denko, Ruckus Wireless, Monster Cable, and HTC, along with a large number of startups and early-stage companies. We have worked on matters involving varied technologies, ranging from advanced Flash RAM to high-speed optical networking, from database schema to monoclonal antibodies. No tangle of technical and legal issues is too complex—in fact, the more complex the better!
We work seamlessly with our client’s inside and outside experts and immerse ourselves in the relevant technologies. We are invariably curious. Because we invest upfront in truly learning our clients’ technologies, we have achieved a greater than 90 percent success rate in those patent matters that have gone to trial, with a similar success rate on cases resolved on summary judgment.
We have played critical roles in coordinating multinational patent litigation, including leading teams that included patent counsel in the European Patent Office and EU courts, Germany, Israel, India, France, Thailand, and Australia. We co-authored the chapter “International Patent Litigation Strategy” for the book Recent Trends in Patent Litigation (Thomson Reuters/Aspatore).
Patent Opinions
We have deep experience writing patent opinions, particularly those addressing a third party’s notice of infringement. Our work often provides the foundation for our representation of a client in related litigation, where the intention is to keep the opinion privileged. In other cases, our opinion work leads to a productive and informed conversation about the propriety and risks of continuing, discontinuing, or altering a particular business activity.
IPRs
An Inter Partes Review (IPR) is a trial proceeding conducted before the Patent Trial & Appeal Board, focusing on the patentability of claims in an issued patent in light of the prior art. Once initiated, IPR proceedings operate like a mini-trial of patentability issues, often as an adjunct to ongoing patent litigation. We have handled over 20 IPRs for a range of multinational companies and have had significant success, both as petitioner and patent holder, well above the national averages.
Patent Strategy
Patent portfolio development and strategy encompass several overlapping areas of competency—understanding our client’s technology, understanding the competitive patent landscape, and devising strategies for maximizing our client’s coverage within their current and future industries. We approach this set of tasks holistically, focusing on advancing our client’s business goals. We have counseled a broad range of clients on patent strategy, from startups filing their critical first suite of key patent applications, to publicly traded entities seeking to build a fence around a new field of innovation or build a defensive portfolio. We are skilled in patent portfolio development in diverse technical fields including software, networking, semiconductors, electronics, communications, pharmaceuticals, and biotechnology.
Trade Secret Litigation
Like patent litigation, trade secret cases often involve complex technologies, but the stories underlying a trade secret case make these cases distinct from other types of IP litigation. Success means skillfully building (or tearing down) narratives of innovation, tracing the pedigree of particular technologies, determining whether the subject matter is protectible, and for the purposes of determining potential damages, unpacking how the relevant industry makes technical progress and assigns value to that progress.
We have been lead counsel in trade secret cases involving a wide range of technologies: from large-scale transportation logistics software, to wide area networking, to biotechnologies. We have tried cases to verdict and have, to date, won each case that has gone to completion.
Trademark Litigation
Protecting our clients’ brands has been an important part of our practice. We have litigated complex infringement cases involving a wide array of industries and brands such as NFL®, MLB®, FIFA®, IRONMAIL®, MOTOROLA®, EQUAL®, IMAX®, 1800FLOWERS®, DOMINO’S®, and WAFFLE HOUSE®.
We have handled temporary restraining orders for urgent relief before a product launch, a major sporting event, or a counterfeiting threat. We have taken significant matters through trial, when a house brand, mark, or important product configuration is involved. We have worked with the leading market perception experts and have commissioned and directed surveys that have been critical to winning at trial.
We have a particularly deep background in trade dress cases involving product design, product configuration, and color as the primary source identifiers—such as orange for HOME DEPOT® trade dress or blue for EQUAL®.
Copyright Litigation
We have been copyright litigation counsel for a wide array of clients, ranging from musical artists (Allman Brothers, REM and others), to authors, software developers, and engineers. We have experience with the most complex of copyright issues, including those relevant to computer software. We are well-versed in the differences between preparing and trying a copyright case involving album cover art, to one involving too much music sampling, to one involving the protectible aspects of database schema.
Corporate Technology/IP Counseling
We regularly advise early-stage technology companies or other startups on developing their infrastructure for IP development and management, on important licensing matters, or on intellectual property issues in the mergers and acquisition context. We have extensive experience staying with the client all the way from its early stage to becoming a publicly traded entity. We work well with inside or outside corporate counsel and ensure that the IP strategy furthers the client’s core business goals.