Intellectual Property Litigation

< Back to San Diego Office Main

With San Diego poised to become one of a handful of “Rocket Docket” jurisdictions in the country for intellectual property matters, it is more important now than ever for clients to have experienced local counsel with extensive trial experience. With more than half the 50 attorneys in San Diego involved with IP litigation, we provide particular depth to clients facing legal challenges in this area.

The American Lawyer recognized Heller Ehrman as one of the top five IP Litigation practices in the country, and Chambers & Partners named us as one of the top three practices in California.  Our experience includes patent, copyright, trademark, trade-dress infringement, licensing and trade secret litigation. And, as San Diego moves to become one of a handful of “Rocket Docket” jurisdictions in the country, we are working closely with judges and local organizations to develop local rules to address the anticipated influx of litigation.

Pharmaceutical/Biotech Patent Litigation

Clients in the biotech and pharmaceutical industry have retained us to handle a number of precedent-setting cases impacting the industry, including a victory before the U.S. Supreme Court in Merck KGaA v. Integra Life Sciences, considered to be the most significant patent case in the biotech and pharmaceutical industries in the last generation. Led by Jessica Wolff, our San Diego team has successfully represented numerous local companies.

Semiconductor and Electronics Patent Litigation

Alan Blankenheimer has extensive semiconductor patent litigation experience. Mr. Blankenheimer has been involved in the major semiconductor wars in the country, including litigation on behalf of Maxim Integrated Products, Cypress Semiconductor, Intel, Microchip Technology and Azul Systems. David Kleinfeld frequently represents Qualcomm and has established a long and successful track record in a number of matters on its behalf, including a successful jury verdict in Zoltar v. Qualcomm and the successful representation of Qualcom in major litigation against Motorola and Broadcom.

Medical Device and Consumer Product Patent Litigation

Our industry-experienced litigators vigorously protect and defend patents, trademarks and other intellectual property for medical device industry clients, including interocular lenses, dental implants, cyrotherapy devices, stent technology, cardiovascular technology, Implantable cardiovascular defibrillators and diagnostic tests. In San Diego, John Benassi has been involved in some of the most significant life sciences and technology patent cases in the region.

Patent Prosecution

Electrical Engineering

Heller Ehrman provides the San Diego region with experience involving a broad technical spectrum that includes semiconductors, nanotechnology, telecommunications, wireless communications, networks, Internet, laser technology, computer hardware and software, fiber-optics, cryptography, speech recognition, medical electronics, artificial intelligence, optics, light emitting diodes, radar systems, mechanical and electro-mechanical systems, signal processing, video games, information devices. We also have experience with patents throughout the printing, auto, energy industries, as well as patents involving software inventions developed for financial services and the securities and insurance industries. San Diego’s Steve Moore provides the region with significant on-the-ground experience in working with small technology companies on the preparation and prosecution of intellectual property portfolios.

Biotechnology/Pharmaceutical

Our San Diego team advises pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies on the preparation and coordination of strategic patent prosecution and patent investigation. Jessica Wolff has prepared over 100 freedom-to-operate analyses and has worked closely with clients to design around third-party patents. She was instrumental in developing a non-infringing formulation of the aesthetic Diprivan and obtained patent prosecution to prevent further generic competition. Such work has facilitated the launch of more than 50 NDA, generic, and 505(b)(23) drug products. Our team has also counseled many pharmaceutical and biotech clients in the patent prosecution areas, including IntelliGeneScan, BiogenIdec, Sicor and XTL Biopharmaceuticals.

Trademark and Copyright Prosecution

Heller Ehrman has extensive experience managing tens of thousands of trademarks worldwide and provides. We provide creative but practical counseling to litigate one of the most important company assets – brand identity. San Diego’s John Wilson works with clients in the San Diego and throughout the country to protect brands of such companies as Visa International and Symantec, as well as local brands of emerging technology and life sciences companies.