Morrison Foerster is an international law firm with lawyers practicing throughout the United States, Asia, and Europe. Click to discover more.

mofo_share_image.jpg

Morrison Foerster

common-default.jpeg

Terms / Notices

Cookies

Privacy Policy

Reporting Hotline

Attorney Advertising

Alumni

  Linkedin

MoFo LinkedIN

  Facebook

MoFo Facebook

YouTube

MoFo Youtube

Morrison Foerster - Footer

Google’s Clash With Oracle, PTAB Judges: What’s on Tap for IP in 2021

You have not solved the recaptcha challenge yet or session expired, try again.

Email Disclaimer

Disclaimer

Unsolicited e-mails and information sent to Morrison Foerster will not be considered confidential, may be disclosed to others pursuant to our <a href="https://www.mofo.com/about/privacy-policy.html">Privacy Policy</a>, may not receive a response, and do not create an attorney-client relationship with Morrison Foerster. If you are not already a client of Morrison Foerster, do not include any confidential information in this message. Also, please note that our attorneys do not seek to practice law in any jurisdiction in which they are not properly authorized to do so.

Feedback

mofo-logo-2022.svg

People

Capabilities

Resources

About

Culture

Offices

Careers

Stay Connected

Richard Hung, Bita Rahebi, and Rose Lee authored an article for Bloomberg Law covering what lies ahead in the intellectual property arena for 2021, including the copyright dispute between tech giants Google and Oracle, the impact of the upcoming Supreme Court case involving the constitutionality of Patent Trial and Appeal Board judge appointments, and whether more uniformity will come to trade secret litigation.



We are Morrison Foerster — a global firm of exceptional credentials. Our clients include some of the largest financial institutions, investment banks, and Fortune 100, technology, and life sciences companies. Our lawyers are committed to achieving innovative and business-minded results for our clients, while preserving the differences that make us stronger.Because of the generality of this update, the information provided herein may not be applicable in all situations and should not be acted upon without specific legal advice based on particular situations. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

About Morrison Foerster

people-default-header-desktop.jpg

people-default-header-mobile.jpg

Default Meta Data

Richard Hung, Bita Rahebi, and Rose Lee authored an article for Bloomberg Law covering what lies ahead in the intellectual property arena for 2021, including the copyright dispute between tech giants Google and Oracle, the impact of the upcoming Supreme Court case involving the constitutionality of Patent Trial and Appeal Board judge appointments, and whether more uniformity will come to trade secret litigation.“The most anticipated copyright case of 2020 was Google v. Oracle,” the authors wrote. “Due to COVID-19, however, the Supreme Court deferred oral argument until October 2020. The upcoming decision could be the first time the court decides whether copyright protects software interface code, and the first time in decades that it addresses copyright’s fair use doctrine.”They added: “The potential outcomes vary widely. The Supreme Court could decide the extent to which software interface code can be copyrighted and fair use applies, or it could simply rule that the jury verdict in Google’s favor should have received greater deference. It could also decide something in between.”“After more than a decade of litigation, IP lawyers are eager for a decision.”Read the <a target="_blank" href="https://media2.mofo.com/v3/assets/blt5775cc69c999c255/blt90ef00c3b8b2073b/6273ef7a4d9f892971291b77/210127-googles-clash-with-oracle-ptab.pdf">full article</a>.Reproduced with permission. Published Jan. 27, 2021. Copyright 2021 The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. 800-372-1033. For further use, please visit <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bloombergindustry.com/copyright-and-usage-guidelines-copyright/">http://www.bna.com/copyright-permission-request/</a>

Google’s Clash With Oracle, PTAB Judges: What’s on Tap for IP in 2021

Sign Up

Rich is the Global Co-Chair of Morrison Foerster’s Litigation Department. He previously co-led the firm’s IP Litigation Group and the cross–disciplinary Intellectual Property Group for over a decade. He brings his knowledge as a registered patent lawyer and a Federal Circuit clerk to lead complex technology matters for clients in state and federal trial and appellate courts. He has represented plaintiffs and defendants in high–stakes patent litigation, competitor‑on–competitor cases, non–practicing entity assertions, and trade secret misappropriation disputes—obtaining consent judgments in multiple cases. Rich also represents clients in adversarial proceedings before the U.S. PTO and counsels clients on strategic offensive and defensive patent licensing and acquisition issues. His matters have spanned a broad range of technologies, including:<ul><li>Internet search</li><li>Cryptography</li><li>Programmable logic devices</li><li>Graphical user interfaces</li><li>Smartphones</li><li>Water filtration consumer appliances</li></ul>Rich earned dual bachelor’s degrees in electrical engineering and economics from Stanford University and his law degree from Columbia Law School. In law school, he externed for the Honorable Sonia Sotomayor, then with the Southern District of New York. He was also a James Kent Scholar, a moot court editor and judge, and a recipient of the Carroll G. Harper Prize for excellence in intellectual property. After law school, Rich clerked for the Honorable Paul Michel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.In 2014, Rich was appointed by then San Francisco Mayor Edwin Lee to serve as a Neutral Commissioner on the San Francisco Rent Stabilization and Arbitration Board. He served two terms as President and remains on the board of directors of the Asian Law Alliance, a non-profit organization that provides pro bono legal assistance to the Asian/Pacific Islander community in the Silicon Valley. Rich is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.Rich previously tried multiple criminal cases—all to favorable verdicts—with the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office.

Richard Hung

Partner

Bita Rahebi serves as co-chair of Morrison Foerster’s global IP Litigation Group and cross-disciplinary Intellectual Property Group and is a co-leader of its Semiconductor Industry Group. The world’s largest and most innovative technology companies turn to Bita for her trial skills and her strategic direction leading complex, high-stakes litigation matters. She litigates before state and federal trial courts, the Federal Circuit, and the International Trade Commission on a wide range of matters involving semiconductors, software, consumer electronics, medical devices and standard essential patents (SEPs).As a trial lawyer, Bita is known for zealously representing her clients’ interests. She brings an ability to explain complicated issues to juries and judges, a skill honed through years of experience working with cutting-edge technologies. She has obtained a complete defense victory as lead trial lawyer, invalidated numerous patents, and also obtained winning results for plaintiffs.Bita’s successes have built her reputation as a recognized leader for intellectual property litigation. Chambers USA noted that Bita “offers substantial expertise handling patent disputes for technology-sector clients,” and clients have called her a “razor-sharp” lawyer who “excels at trial and litigation strategy” and is “client focused.” Bita’s accolades include:<ul><li>Named a Top Intellectual Property Lawyer by Daily Journal for multiple years</li><li>Selected as the 2022 Patent Lawyer of the Year by Euromoney Legal Media in its annual Americas Women in Business Law Awards</li><li>Recognized for Intellectual Property: Patent Litigation, California in the 2022 and 2023 Chambers USA guides</li><li>Recommended in the 2022 and 2023 Legal 500 US rankings for Intellectual Property: Patent Litigation and in 2023 for Trade Secrets (Litigation and Non-Contentious) </li><li>Named one of the Top Women Lawyers in Southern California by Los Angeles Magazine</li></ul>Bita’s litigation practice includes patent, trade secrets, and copyright litigation. In addition to her litigation practice, Bita advises clients on strategic transactional issues and negotiates on behalf of clients in patent licensing discussions. Bita has also successfully tried criminal jury matters at the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office, securing a guilty verdict for every trial.Bita is the past president of the Los Angeles Intellectual Property Law Association and she co-founded the organization’s Women in IP committee. She also served as a Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference Lawyer Representative. Bita is a board member for ALM’s Intellectual Property Strategist.Earning her B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley, she served as president and editor-in-chief of the Daily Californian. She received her J.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles, where she was an editor of the UCLA Law Review.

Bita Rahebi

Rose Lee counsels clients on a broad range of complex disputes, with a particular focus on patent, copyright, and trade secret matters. She has litigated a wide range of high-technology cases for U.S. and non-U.S. based clients in U.S. federal courts and before the International Trade Commission. The technologies at issue in her matters have spanned areas such as computer software, video encoding, semiconductors, underwater imaging, electrostatic digital printing, and medical devices. A registered patent attorney, Rose also represents clients in adversarial proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. Her experience includes serving as lead associate on litigation matters, drafting briefs, handling all aspects of discovery, and cross-examination.Before joining the firm, Rose served as a judicial extern to the Honorable R. Gary Klausner of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.Rose received her B.S. in chemical engineering, with a focus on biomedical engineering, from the University of California, Los Angeles, and her J.D. from New York University School of Law. While in law school, she was an executive articles editor for the New York University Annual Survey of American Law.Rose is admitted to practice in state and federal courts in California. She is also admitted to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.