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Fish & Richardson Named Law360 IP Practice Group of the Year
Fish & Richardson has been named an IP Practice Group of the Year by Law360 for its high-profile IP wins in 2018, which included the stunning reversal of a $2.5 billion jury verdict against client Gilead Sciences and many important wins in federal courts across the United States, at the Federal Circuit, at the International Trade Commission (ITC) and before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). Fish was one of only six firms nationwide that was singled out by Law360 as an IP Practice Group of the Year. The firm has received the designation five previous times.
"No firm in the world can match Fish's winning track record in intellectual property trials," said Kurt Glitzenstein, Litigation Practice Group Leader at Fish. "Our trial lawyers are in court nearly every day. We know how to present the facts and the law in ways that are clear and compelling to judges and to juries, which is why we outperform other firms in high-stakes patent infringement actions."
In addition to Fish's impressive reversal of a $2.5 billion jury verdict against Gilead, the firm obtained a unanimous Federal Circuit affirmance of its June 2016 post-trial vacatur of a $200 million jury verdict against Gilead after proving litigation and business misconduct constituting unclean hands. The cases are part of an ongoing global dispute between Gilead and Merck & Co./Idenix over Gilead's two blockbuster drugs, Sovaldi® and Harvoni®, which cure hepatitis C and are considered among the greatest medical innovations ever.
Law360 chose Fish as IP Practice Group of the Year because of the firm's exceptional track record. During the past year, Fish won 15 cases in district court and 27 cases at the Federal Circuit, and successfully resolved over 200 other cases. This includes significant wins for Arctic Cat, Bed Bath & Beyond, Buyseasons, Power Integrations, and Samsung Bioepis. The firm handled 166 petitions at the PTAB during this time period, with 83 percent of those petitions ending favorably for the firm's petitioner clients. Major PTAB victories include thwarting 10 inter partes review (IPR) petitions that I-MAK filed at the PTAB against seven Gilead Orange Book patents and getting all 10 petitions denied.
"One aspect of our practice that sets us apart from other firms is that clients rely on us for strategy, leadership and vision for their global patent disputes. We provide guidance for patent litigation in countries worldwide," said Fish principal Chad Shear, who has led Gilead's litigation strategy around the world for the past five years including the PTAB actions.
Fish also dominated at the ITC, handling more patent litigation than any other law firm with nearly 25 percent of all new matters. One key win included obtaining a rare reversal of an initial determination of no violation for client Macronix International against Toshiba Corp. while making new law clarifying the domestic industry requirement.