Patent Litigation

"One of the big players in patent litigation"

—Legal 500

As a leading international law firm, with more than 125 intellectual property attorneys around the world, Paul Hastings has the breadth and experience to litigate the most technically and legally complex patent matters. Representing many of the world’s largest corporations, major universities and individual inventors and entrepreneurs, we have developed experience litigating a wide variety of technologies, including medical devices, chemical sciences, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, wired and wireless telecommunications, computer hardware and software, internet technologies and business methods.

Paul Hastings’ litigators have tried more jury cases to verdict than most firms, particularly “bet-the-company” patent litigation claims. Our team includes both seasoned trial attorneys as well as patent attorneys with in-depth subject matter knowledge of the technologies at issue. The vast majority of our litigators have undergraduate and/or graduate degrees in life sciences, engineering or computer science and hands-on experience within their respective fields. We have more than 50 registered patent attorneys and agents, and employ a staff of in-house scientific advisers that provide technical guidance to our teams. Our litigators include former clerks to federal judges, including several judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and its predecessor, the Court of Customs and Patent Appeals, as well as former patent examiners at the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Our experienced patent litigators regularly perform pre-litigation investigations on behalf of clients to develop the best strategy to attain the client’s business objectives, whether it involves pre-suit negotiations, early settlement, obtaining a preliminary injunction or taking the case to trial. In addition, we have significant experience investigating and providing formal written opinions regarding patent invalidity, non-infringement and freedom to operate.

Our attorneys have tried to verdict some of the largest and most complex IP cases in the nation. We have litigated in numerous forums around the country, and have particular strength litigating in common patent forums, such as the Northern, Central and Southern Districts of California, the District of Delaware, and the “rocket dockets” of the Eastern District of Virginia and the Eastern District of Texas.

Paul Hastings' litigation experience is not limited to the district courts. We routinely represent clients in Section 337 cases before the United States International Trade Commission (ITC), either in a single matter or in conjunction with co-pending patent litigation matters. These cases require a unique set of skills, including scientific expertise, knowledge of patent law and familiarity with the rules and procedures employed by the ITC. ITC cases often involve allegations – such as patent infringement, misappropriation of trade secrets or unfair competition – that call for our global team’s ability to litigate in jurisdictions other than the ITC’s home in Washington, DC.

Services

• Pre-litigation investigations
• Infringement litigation
• Markman hearings
• State-of-the-art support tools
• Licensing disputes
• Appeals

Practices

• Biotechnology and pharmaceutical
• Chemistry
• Computer software and internet
• Electronics
• High-tech counseling
• Mechanical engineering
• Medical device
• Semiconductor
• Technology and e-commerce
• Telecommunications
• Wireless