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Intellectual Property Litigation
Backed by one of the largest IP practices in the upper Midwest, we have tried and won lawsuits involving critical patents, trademarks, copyrights, licensing agreements and trade secrets.
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What We Do
From dispute advice to complex litigation, our team understands our clients’ business objectives and works to meet them by providing a range of services, including:
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Patent Litigation. We bring complex concepts to life for judges and juries. Our trial attorneys handle patent infringement litigation across the country in every industry and business sector.
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Trademark Litigation. Our attorneys have substantial experience in trademark, trade dress, false advertising and domain name disputes. We also handle matters before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, opposing or seeking to cancel the registration of trademarks confusingly similar to those of our clients, and defending against similar claims.
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Licensing Disputes. Our intellectual property attorneys have successfully litigated sizeable licensing disputes involving critical intellectual property assets.
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Trade Secret Litigation. Our intellectual property litigators work on cases involving technological secrets, formulas and manufacturing, and other critical business information.
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Copyright Litigation. Our group’s copyright litigation experience spans publishing, architecture, arts & entertainment, software, and more.
Our team is trained in legal project management. We use communication and budget tools to ensure that we meet our clients’ expectations. The result of applying these tools and techniques to our practice includes predictable budgeting and a custom communication plan to meet each client’s preferences.
Experience
Representative Clients
- AGA Medical
- Arctic Cat
- Buffalo Wild Wings
- Ergotron
- Hormel Foods
- Medtronic
Patent Litigation
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Represent the world’s leading medical products provider in various patent and licensing disputes. In one case, we filed suit against a competitor in the Middle District of Florida. Our team obtained a consent injunction, forcing the opponent to stop selling the infringing product at an early stage, before the claim construction hearing.
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Currently defend a manufacturer of wireless intercom systems in a patent infringement lawsuit filed by 3M. We obtained a stay of the case pending reexamination of the patents. We have been adverse to 3M nine times in the last five years.
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Successfully defended accused patent infringers in the Eastern District of Texas. Our clients faced an opponent seeking $64 million in damages. The case was quickly settled after the jury returned an award of $3 million, well below any prior settlement demand.
Licensing Disputes
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Defended AGA Medical in a licensing dispute initially valued by the plaintiff at $300 million, including a two-phased trial in the spring of 2013. After trial, and raising a concern over the validity of the license agreement, the presiding judge initiated a settlement conference that lead to a favorable settlement well below pretrial settlement demands.
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Represented a mortarless retaining wall design company in a trial and two appeals regarding the company’s enforcement of a license agreement in the Western District of Wisconsin and the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, resulting in a finding of liability, injunction and full damages award.
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Represented Medtronic in licensing disputes with various parties. In one instance, we were able to convince a licensee, without resorting to litigation, to restart and complete license payments after it initially determined it could cease payments, resulting in $2 million in additional royalties.
Trademark Litigation
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Defend trademarks owned by a Minnesota manufacturer of off-road vehicles in trademark litigation. In 2012, we obtained a favorable global settlement in a trademark dispute involving our client’s primary logo. We are currently defending the client in a trademark infringement case involving one of the client’s best-selling products.
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Represented a well-known restaurant chain in trademark and trade dress enforcement proceedings. In 2012, we obtained a permanent injunction against a competing restaurant chain requiring the competitor to change the restaurant’s logos and color scheme.
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Represent the world’s leading medical device provider in trademark enforcement and TTAB proceedings. In one recent case, the defendant changed the infringing advertising materials in response to our preliminary injunction motion.
Trade Secret Litigation
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Represented a medical device company in a lawsuit to protect its trade secrets. Our client developed a new technology and entered into a non-disclosure agreement with a potential vendor. The vendor later applied for a patent that incorporated our client’s technology. We filed suit and achieved a settlement that keeps the competitor out of our client’s market.
- Represented a manufacturer of electronic medical records software in trade secret litigation with the former employee of a development partner. Our client co-developed key software that performs natural language processing of medical records. One of the principal designers of the software subsequently left our client’s development partner, taking copies of the software’s source code with him and deleting the code from his employer’s computers. When our client learned that the former employee was attempting to sell the software to other customers, we joined in a lawsuit with our client’s co-developer to protect the technology and recover the stolen source code. The case was tried before a jury in federal court for the U.S. District of Minnesota, and the Court ruled in favor of our client on all claims.
News & Articles
Top 10 List of Basic Do's and Don’ts for IP
May 1, 2018
By Eric J. Snustad & David C. West
No matter how much IP experience a person has, it can be valuable to have short, easy-to-consume reminders of the basic things a company should consider.
Read MoreSupreme Court Upholds Constitutionality of Inter Partes Review - PTAB Must Decide Patentability of All Challenged Claims
April 24, 2018
The Supreme Court of the United States issued a pair of significant decisions today regarding post-grant practice before the PTO’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board.
Read MoreDifferent Bases, Same Result in District of Minnesota Transfer Cases
March 19, 2018
The District of Minnesota continues to see many cases transferred to other districts after last year’s Supreme Court decision on venue in patent cases in TC Heartland v. Kraft Foods.
Read MoreDistrict of Minnesota Rejects Alice Challenge to Check Processing Patent Claims
December 18, 2017
The District of Minnesota recently issued its fourth post-Alice decision, this time addressing the question of patent subject matter eligibility for a check processing patent.
Read MorePleading Willfulness in the District of Minnesota Post-Halo
December 8, 2017
Over a year after the Supreme Court’s decision in Halo Electronics, district courts continue to disagree over what is required to adequately plead a claim for willful infringement. The District of Minnesota is beginning to enter the fray.
Read MoreOn the Move: Judge Nelson Ships a Patent Case to Pennsylvania Under TC Heartland
September 1, 2017
In May 2017, the United States Supreme Court decided TC Heartland LLC v. Kraft Foods and limited venue in patent cases to where a corporate defendant is incorporated or has a regular and established place of business.
Read MoreSupreme Court Dramatically Restricts Venue in Patent Cases
May 22, 2017
The U.S. Supreme Court’s May 22, 2017, decision in TC Heartland LLC v. Kraft Foods Group redefined the possible venues for patent infringement lawsuits.
Read MoreFederal Circuit’s Helsinn Decision Limits America Invents Act Changes to “On Sale” Prior Art
May 12, 2017
In Helsinn Healthcare, S.A., v. Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit addressed the degree to which the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act of 2011 (AIA) altered the “on sale” prior art provision of 35 U.S.C. § 102.
Read MoreWhen it Comes to Asserting the Defense of Laches, Patent Infringers are Out of Time
May 8, 2017
In SCA Hygiene Products v. First Quality Baby Products, the Supreme Court recently ended over a 100 years of application of the equitable doctrine of laches in patent infringement cases.
Read MoreUsing Email Service to Fight Counterfeiters
May 8, 2017
Malicious counterfeiters often hide their identities, making it impossible to serve them through traditional means.
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