Patent and Trademark Litigation

Patent Litigation

Patent litigation is known to be very difficult on courts, the parties, and attorneys; and regarded as the most complex and expensive variety of litigation.  We aim to reduce the stress of patent litigation on our clients by offering them expeditious, cost-effective representation, and doing our best in the early phases of the litigation to terminate it before attorney fees become overwhelming. Many litigants in patent cases face unexpected and rapidly escalating attorney fees which make proceeding with their case impossible after the client has already sunk large amounts of money into a case that would otherwise be winnable.  We offer all of our litigation clients their choice of either hourly biling, or fixed fee billing for the litigation.  Under fixed fee billing, we agree upon a fixed price for all work before each phase of the litigation commences, and bill the client only that amount as they chose to proceed through each phase.  In most of the cases of which we are aware, our fees total only one-fifth to one-third of the total we are made aware is being billed by opposing counsel for work on the same case.  We would be happy to speak with you about filing or defending patent litigation cases in Utah.

Trials in patent litigation are rare because of the complexity and expense involved in getting to trial.  The Office of Administration of US Courts releases annual statistics which show that there were 5,012 patent infringement cases filed in the US before US district courts in 2014, but only about 100 patent infringement cases which went to trial in 2014. Overall, plaintiffs in patent infringement cases prevail 77% of the time in jury trials and 52% of the time in bench trials, prevailing most often in matters involving consumer products, pharmaceutical products, medical devices and electronic devices; while prevailing least often in patents in the industries of software and consumer services. The average time to get to trial in 2014 was 2.5 years.  Two-thirds of patent infringement trials are decided by juries, and the average damage award by a jury in trial in 2014 was $5.4 million.

Our Utah patent attorneys are experienced in patent litigation matters.

In about half of the filed patent infringement matters we handle for defendants, we have been able to settle the case without payment from our client, or have the case dismissed, within two months of its filing. We are able to prevent about 80% of patent infringement cases which law firms threaten our clients with from even filed from being filed through detailed response letters, claim charts, and pre-litigation communication with opposing counsel.  We have handled a variety of matters before the PTAB (Patent Trial and Appeal Board) including rexaminations and petitions for post-grant reveiw.

Click here for a  video clip on common patent questions we have made (Audio only here).

Trademark Litigation

Trademark litigation, like patent litigation, is often handled by patent attorneys, who are accustomed to prosecuting patents and trademarks before the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).  As the US economy has grown over the decades, and as commerce on the Internet explodes, so too has the difficulty of picking a brand name which is not thought to be trademarked by someone. Trademark litigation matters have become ever more prevalent on the dockets of US district courts.  We regularly handle these trademark infringement matters, and can quickly identify weaknesses and strengths in threatened or actual trademark infringement matters -- including that common law trademark rights are often only geographic in scope (or do not exist), that registered trademarks are descriptive or geographically descriptive, and alleged use in commerce stemming from corporate filings for domain name registrations are not actual use in commerce.

Understanding the right to register a trademark and enforce it against other parites requires the skill of an experienced attorney who focuses on intellectual property matters.  On the right is a list of trademark cases we have recently handled in federal court.  Though rare, we have also handled trademark matters in state court, dozens of trademark oppositions and petitions to cancel before the TTAB (Trademark Trial and Appeal Board), and over 120 UDRP domain name disputes involving trademark infringement allegations.  We have prosecuted over 100 pending trademarks before the USPTO.  Let our work benefit you.  We are more cost-effective than larger law operations, and offer RESULTS-ORIENTED REPRESENTATION® to all our clients, a phrase we have trademarked for our firm.

Writing Samples

Patent Litigation Samples

Memorandum in Support of Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Jurisdiction (Patent Infringement)
Memorandum in Opposition to Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment (Patent Infringement)

Trademark Litigation Samples

Memorandum in Support of Plaintiff's Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment (ACPA)
Memorandum in Support of Motion to Stay (Doctrine of Absention)
Transcript of Rinehart's Oral Argument in Support of Summary Judgment

Recent Patent Litigation Cases

• West Coast Trends v. Ogio International, Inc. No. 2:11-CV-1190 (D. Utah) (Representing the Plaintiff, the case was successfully settled on favorable terms after four years of litigation following discovery, reexamination before the PTAB, summary judgment, and a change of venue).

• Denmel Holding, LLC v. Bluelounge Distribution, LLC, No. 2:15-CV-87 (D. Utah) (Representing the Defendants, the case was successfully dismissed before discovery).

• Denis Reah v. Re.Source, Inc. No. 2:09-CV-601 (D. Utah) (Representing the defendant, the case was successfully dismissed for our client on a motion to dismiss filed before discovery).

• Universal Trim Supply Company, LTD v. K & K Trading Co. No. 2:09-CV-19 (D. Utah) (Representing the defendants in a case invovling both a Chinese plaintiff and Chinese defendants, the case was successfully dismissed following conclusion of fact discovery).

• Micro, Inc v. Harmonics, Inc., 1:12-CV-1510 (D. Delaware) (Representing third-party defendant is patent licensing idemnity claim). 

Recent Trademark Litigation Cases

• Accuity v. Acuity Benefits, Inc., No. 2:15-CV-428 (D. Utah) (In litigation).

• Park City Transportation, Inc. v. Park City Limousines, LC. No. 2:15-CV-24) (D. Utah) (In litigation).

• Innovative Staffing, Inc. v. ISHR, LLC. (2:14-CV-927) (D. Utah) (In litigation).

• Strong College Students Moving, Inc v. CHHJ Franchising, 2:12-CV-1156. (D. Arizona) (Concluded after three years of litigation on summary judgment).

• RMV Enterprises v. ksoftware.com, 1:12-CV-335. (E.D. Virginia) (Representing Plaintiff, won domain name transfer to client).

• EZQuest, Inc. v. Baorui, No., 2:12-CV-730 (D. Utah) (Won ex-parte preliminary injunction transfering the domain ezq.com to client).

• Web Entertainment v. y8.org, 1:14-CV-1416 (E.D. Virginia) (Settled).

• Joe Carpenter v. myschool.com, No. 1:15-CV-212 (E.D. Virginia) (Case lost on summary judgment).

• Internet Enterprises, LLC v. Truckmast Logistics Systems, No. 2:09-CV-374 (D. Utah) (Representing Defendant, Plaintiff settled and transfered domain name to our client).

• Bullex, Inc. v. JinHakYoo, 2:10-CV-668 (D. Utah) (Won transfer of domain name for New York client from China).