Ali S. Razai

Partner

Orange County

949-760-0404

ali.razai@knobbe.com

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Overview

Experience

Recognition

Resources

Ali S. Razai is a litigation partner in our Orange County office.

Mr. Razai has a broad intellectual property litigation practice, having handled cases involving utility patents, design patents, trademarks, trade dress, copyrights, trade secrets, false advertising, unfair competition and breach of contract throughout California and nationwide.

He has worked on a diverse range of matters involving mechanical devices, optics, medical devices, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals. Mr. Razai has handled matters for a diverse array of clients, including Oakley, Mexicana Airlines, 99¢ Only Stores, Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals, Ligand Pharmaceuticals, and I-Flow Corporation (a subsidiary of Kimberly-Clark).

Mr. Razai is a registered patent attorney and also has extensive experience in patent prosecution, having obtained numerous patents for clients in various technology areas, particularly biotechnology. Mr. Razai has also worked within the AgBio industry, working on patents involving carbon scrubbing exhaust through algae and using the algae as green energy. Additionally, he has worked on an internet domain name litigation matter.

Mr. Razai was seconded by the firm to act as interim in-house patent counsel at Oakley, Inc. for an extended period, during which Mr. Razai handled all of Oakley's patent matters, including prosecution, litigation and due diligence.

Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Razai was a Research Associate at the UCLA AIDS Institute studying the effect of the HIV virus on cytokine expression. After receiving his Masters in Public Health from Berkeley in 2001, he went to UCSF where he focused his research on the development of therapeutic antibodies against the neurotoxin produced by the bio-terror agent C. botulinum. Mr. Razai's work at UCSF resulted in multiple royalty-bearing patents for a cure to botulism.

Education

University of California - Hastings - School of Law (J.D., 2006)

University of California - Berkeley (CAL) (M.P.H. Infectious Diseases, 2001)

University of California - Los Angeles (UCLA) (B.S. Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, 1998)

University of California - Hastings - School of Law

University of California - Berkeley (CAL)

University of California - Los Angeles (UCLA)

State Bar of California

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

AgBio

Biotechnology

Chemical

Fashion & Beauty

Media & Entertainment

Medical Devices & Procedures

Pharmaceuticals

Sporting Goods & Recreation

Practice Areas

Domain Name & Website Content Disputes

Consumer Products Litigation

Trademarks & Brand Protection

Patent Prosecution

PTAB Ex Parte Patent Proceedings

IP Strategy

Due Diligence

Opinions & Counseling

IP Transactions & Agreements

Hatch-Waxman Litigation

Medical Device Litigation

Trade Secret & Employment Mobility Litigation

Trademark & Brand Protection Litigation

Patents

PTAB IPR & Post-Grant Proceedings

Aliign Activation Wear, LLC v. lululemon athletica Canada Inc. and lululemon USA Inc (Case 2:20-cv-03339-SVW-JEM) (C.D. Cal)

Led the Knobbe team that successfully defended lululemon in trademark infringement suit filed in connection with lululemon’s ALIGN yoga product collection. Obtained summary judgment for no infringement, including no forward confusion, reverse confusion or initial interest confusion between the parties’ products, which avoided the plaintiff’s damages claims exceeding several hundred million dollars.

Metamorfoza, D.O.O. v. Big Funny LLC, et al. (2021)

Led the Knobbe team that defended Big Funny against allegation of trademark infringement. Each of the plaintiff and defendant operate museums around the world under the mark MUSEUM OF ILLUSIONS. Metamorfoza brought an action in the Southern District of New York alleging that Big Funny’s use of the name “Museum of Illusions” at its museums in Los Angeles and Miami infringe the plaintiff’s trademark rights. The Knobbe team successfully transferred the case to Big Funny’s chosen forum, the Central District of California. In the Central District of California, the court granted Big Funny’s motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6), without allowing the plaintiff leave to amend.

BlenderBottle – Ongoing Enforcement

BlenderBottle revolutionized the way supplements are mixed and consumed. BlenderBottle’s shaker bottles for mixing supplements and liquid have become the go-to products for outdoor enthusiasts, gym goers, serious protein drinkers, and more. Led by Ali Razai, the Knobbe team has developed a successful patent and trade dress enforcement strategy and program for BlenderBottle. Knobbe Martens has represented BlenderBottle in numerous enforcement matters including in the U.S., E.U., and Russia. The Knobbe team has also filed several patent and trade dress infringement lawsuits on behalf of BlenderBottle.

CyDex Pharm v. Alembic et al. (2021)

Helped lead the Knobbe team that represented CyDex in the ANDA litigation. CyDex, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ligand Pharmaceuticals, develops, manufactures, and sells specialized cyclodextrins, which are used to optimize the solubility, stability, and bioavailability of various active agents in the pharmaceutical industry. For example, CyDex’s proprietary cyclodextrin, called CAPTISOL®, is the solubilizing agent used in Gilead’s REMDESEVIR® product for the treatments of COVID-19. Defendant Alembic sought FDA approval to market a generic version of the multiple myeloma drug MELPHALAN®. filed suit on behalf of CyDex in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware alleging infringement of three of CyDex’s patents protecting CAPTISOL®. At claim construction, the district court found in favor of CyDex on all disputed terms. After extensive litigation, the parties reached a settlement whereby Alembic agreed to a consent judgment that the patents were infringed, thus preventing generic entry.

simplehuman, LLC v. iTouchless Housewares and Products, Inc. (N.D. Cal.) (2021)

Led a Knobbe team that successfully enforced simplehuman’s patent and trademark rights. Shortly after simplehuman filed a motion for partial summary judgment of infringement of the design patents-in-suit. While the motion was pending, the team negotiated a favorable settlement through mediation.

Benebone LLC v. Pet Qwerks, Inc. and Doskocil Manufacturing d/b/a Petmate (C.D. Cal.) (2021)

Led the Knobbe team that took over this design patent and trade dress case and successfully settled it on behalf of Defendants Pet Qwerks and Petmate before the close of fact discovery. Pet Qwerks was in the middle of being acquired when a competitor, Benebone, filed suit alleging that Pet Qwerks’ line of dog chew toys infringe Benebone’s design patents and trade dress. Pet Qwerks initially hired other counsel to defend it, but given the litigation’s potential impact the acquisition, Pet Qwerks and Petmate turned to Knobbe Martens to take over the case. Knobbe quickly won two important discovery motions, one requiring Benebone to produce its Slack messages which it had been withholding and another requiring a third-party inventor to produce the emails he had been withholding. Shortly after Pet Qwerks won the discovery motions, Benebone requested that the parties enter into mediation. Knobbe Martens successfully settled the case during mediation.

simplehuman, LLC v. iTouchless Housewares and Products, Inc., (C.D. Cal.) (2020)

Led the Knobbe team that successfully represented simplehuman through a very hard-fought litigation against iTouchless. After the conclusion of expert discovery, the team obtained a favorable settlement for simplehuman.

Carson Cheng, et al. v. AIM Sports, Inc., et al. (C.D. Cal.)

Obtained favorable settlement for our clients, including a consent judgment and permanent injunction and confidential settlement representing claims for past damages under six design patents and one utility patent owned by our clients.  The settlement was achieved after we defeated defendants’ motions for summary judgment and obtained a court order barring defendants from challenging our expert’s multi-million dollar damages opinion at trial.

I-Flow Corp. v. Apex Med. Tech., Inc.(S.D. Cal.)

Obtained a $12.4 million verdict and injunctive relief after jury trial for our client I-Flow Corp.

Awards & Honors

Recognized by The Legal 500 "United States" for Patent Litigation (2021)
Recognized in the World Trademark Review (WTR) 1000 as a "Leading Trademark Lawyer" (2020 - 2022). The 2022 guide celebrated Razai as a "powerfully effective litigator", who is "great at mediation, strategically smart and well-recognized at running large and small cases." In the 2021 guide, he was described as a "seasoned" and "winning" litigator through all phases, as well as a "backbone of the litigation practice." In the 2020 guide, he was described as a client as "proactive in getting to know your business well before the first case arises...he knows his way around the courtroom and understands the personalities of the neutrals well".
Named a 2015 and 2016 "Southern California Rising Star" by Super Lawyers magazine for his work in intellectual property litigation
Recognized in the Los Angeles magazine as one of Southern California's "Rising Stars" in a survey of his peers (2015).

Articles

Razai A, et. al., Molecular Evolution Of Antibody Affinity For Sensitive Detection Of Botulinum Neurotoxin Type A. J Mol Biol. 2005 Aug 5;351(1):158-69.

Koka PS, Brooks DG, Razai A, Kitchen CM, Zack JA., HIV Type 1 Infection Alters Cytokine mRNA Expression In Thymus. AIDS Res. & Hum. Retroviruses. 2003 Jan 1;19(1):1-12.

PMID: 12581511 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE

Speeches & Seminars

Bayside Chat – IP Issues and Trends in a Pandemic and (Eventually) Post-Pandemic World, ACC DoubleHeader (October 2021)

Panelist, "Defensive Litigation Strategy," Orange County IP Strategy Summit (2016).

Speaker, "Enforcing Your Design Patents," IP Impact - Silicon Valley (2014).

Speaker, "Intellectual Property Enforcement," OCBA - Corporate Counsel Section (2014).

Speaker, "Intellectual Property Law Primer," Iranian American Bar Association (2009).