Knobbe Martens Named A Top 10 Patent Litigation Firm
Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear LLP, one of the largest intellectual property law firms in the United States, has ranked highly in the 2014 Corporate Counsel Patent Litigation Survey. The firm ranked as one of the top ten patent litigation firms on the list of “The Busiest Firms Overall”. Firms are ranked based on the number of federal district court patent lawsuits handled in prior year. The firm jumped 16 spots to number seven on this year’s list.
Corporate Counsel contacted more than 300 law firms and asked them to provide patent lawsuits that they either filed on behalf of plaintiffs in federal district court in 2013 or were hired to defend. To be considered for the survey, the cases submitted had to be filed in 2013.
Among Knobbe Martens’ most notable patent litigation cases was its $29 million jury award on behalf of client KFx Medical against Arthrex Inc. The case was recognized by The National Law Journal as one of the nation’s largest verdicts of 2013. This year, the firm won a jury award of over $466 million for another firm client, Masimo Corp.
In 2013 a total of 6,092 new patent lawsuits were filed nationally, compared with 5,418 new cases filed in 2012 according to Lex Machina’s 2013 Patent Litigation Year in Review. Not surprisingly, non-practicing entities, otherwise known as "patent trolls," were a major factor in those cases, filing 67 percent of all new patent infringement lawsuits in 2013. Knobbe Martens defends alleged infringers in such cases.
John Sganga, chair of Knobbe Martens’ litigation practice, confirmed that Knobbe Martens felt the trending patent troll increase stating, “The firm saw a major increase in troll litigation across various industries, including a lot of questionable NPE [non-practicing entity] suits.”
With over 275 lawyers and scientists nationwide, Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear LLP dedicates its practice to all aspects of intellectual property law including litigation. Consistently ranked among the top intellectual property firms worldwide, Knobbe Martens serves a diverse group of clients from multinational corporations to emerging businesses of all stages. Headquartered in Orange County, California, Knobbe Martens also has offices in San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Seattle and Washington, D.C. More information about the firm can be found at www.knobbe.com.