Mr. Re is a nationally recognized trial and appellate attorney, having tried numerous high-stakes technology cases in the federal courts throughout the country for well over thirty years.
Mr. Re's trial success before juries has been extraordinary. In two of the most successful patent cases presented to juries, Mr. Re led Knobbe Martens trial teams to help the firm’s longstanding client Masimo protect its ground-breaking patient-monitoring technology. In the first trial, a Los Angeles jury awarded over $134 million against Masimo’s primary rival, Nellcor. Mr. Re successfully persuaded the appellate court to affirm the award and to order the entry of a permanent injunction. Those victories allowed Masimo to settle the case, garner hundreds of millions in damages and ongoing royalties, and go public. In the second trial, Mr. Re and his colleagues asserted Masimo’s patents against patient-monitoring giant Philips before a Delaware jury. That jury awarded Masimo over $466 million and rejected Philips infringement claims for $169 million. The verdict was featured in The National Law Journal's "Top Verdicts of 2014" as the top intellectual property verdict. After the district court upheld the verdict, and set additional claims for trial, the parties settled in a blockbuster deal where Philips paid Masimo $300 million and agreed to a multi-year joint marketing and sales program in which Philips would integrate Masimo technologies in its patient monitors.
Mr. Re is also an experienced appellate advocate, often selected to argue appeals in cases handled by his colleagues and other law firms. He has argued dozens of appeals over the past thirty years, the bulk of which were before the United States Court of Appeals of the Federal Circuit on behalf of both patent holders and accused infringers involving all kinds of technologies.
Mr. Re served as the President of the American Intellectual Property Law Association and the Federal Circuit Bar Association. He also served on the Federal Circuit’s Advisory Council from 2005 to 2014. Mr. Re has also written and spoken extensively on patent law and federal practice and procedure. Since 1990, Mr. Re has authored numerous appellate briefs on behalf of the American Intellectual Property Law Association as amicus curiae before the Supreme Court of the United States and various appellate courts.
The National Law Journal has named Mr. Re one of the "100 Most Influential Lawyers in America" and as a "Winning Litigator." The Daily Journal has repeatedly named Mr. Re as one of the top "100 Leading Lawyers in California." In 2014, Mr. Re was recognized as "MVP of the Year – Intellectual Property" by Law360. In 2004, The California Lawyer named Re "California Attorney of the Year." Mr. Re’s numerous awards and honors are detailed below.
Before joining the firm in 1987, Mr. Re served as a law clerk to the Honorable Howard T. Markey, the first Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. He became a partner of the firm in 1990.
Clerk Experience
Honorable Howard T. Markey, Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, 1985-1987
In jury trial and on appeal, obtained $134.5 million verdict for owner of four patents on read-through-motion pulse oximeters. Jury found that Covidien-held Nellcor had willfully infringed the four patents, while also finding that client had not infringed a Tyco patent. Before trial, the court dismissed on summary judgment other Nellcor claims and defenses. 254 F. Supp.2d 1140 (Markman), 292 F. Supp.2d 1201, and 293 F. Supp.2d 1102 (C.D. Cal. 2003). The appellate court affirmed a $164.5 million judgment and ordered the entry of a permanent injunction. The case settled for $330 million and future royalties.
Mr. Re has received multiple awards and has been honored in both national and international forums for his legal accomplishments:
- Named “Litigator of the Year (California)” at 2023 Managing IP Awards
- Recognized in Patexia's 2023 PTAB Intelligence Report as a “Top Performer” based on activity and performance before the PTAB
- Named in Intellectual Asset Management (IAM) magazine's "Global Leaders" guide (2022-2023)
- Recognized annually as a leading patent litigator by the "Chambers USA Guide" published by Chambers and Partners
- Recognized in the 2022 edition of Euromoney's Expert Guides - Best of the Best USA for Patents
- Named a "World IP Leader" by World Intellectual Property Review (WIPR) (2022 - 2023)
- Named a “Leading Litigator – IP Litigation” in the 2023-2024 edition of Lawdragon’s “500 Leading Litigators in America” guide
- Recognized as a Patent Star in Managing IP's "IP Stars" guide for his outstanding intellectual property legal work from 2014 to 2023
- Selected to the 2007 - 2024 editions of The Best Lawyers in America® for his work in Intellectual Property Litigation, Patent Litigation, and Patent Law. In 2010, 2012, 2017, 2021, 2023 and most recently 2024 he was named Orange County Intellectual Property and Patent Law “Lawyer of the Year”
- Recognized in The Legal 500 "United States" as being an “outstanding litigator”, noted for his work in obtaining a $466 million jury verdict in Masimo Corp. v. Philips Electronics (2015, 2022 - 2023)
- Named one of the "World's Leading Patent Professionals" for litigation in the Patent 1000 guide by Intellectual Property Asset (IAM) magazine (2012 - 2023) and recognized nationally in the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (2023). The 2021 guide applauded Re for having "led trial teams to landmark victories backed up on appeal" with a client adding he "has an amazing ability to connect with juries and a passion for his craft.” The 2022 guide described him as "a master in the courtroom, with an unrivalled ability to communicate complicated technical matters in an understandable way.” The 2023 guide described him as someone who has "put in resonant performances for innovation leaders in important disputes and led many teams to success when there were significant gains to be made or losses to be suffered."
- Repeatedly named to the Daily Journal's list of "Top Intellectual Property Lawyers". He was once again named to the list of "Top IP Lawyers" in California for 2023
- Received "Local Litigation Star", "California Litigation Star", and "National Practice Area Star" rankings in Benchmark Litigation's 2018-2021 and 2023 guides, an definitive guide exclusively covering leading litigators in the U.S.
- Repeatedly selected by Super Lawyers® magazine, and featured as one of the top attorneys in Southern California and Orange County. In 2017, he was recognized as one of the top 50 attorneys in Orange County.
- Repeatedly recognized as a "Life Sciences Star" for Patent Litigation in Legal Media Group's (LMG) "Life Sciences". In 2018, he was noted in the guide as bringing "more than three decades of experience as an IP attorney, and is well-versed in handling jury trials and Federal Circuit Appeals"
- Named “Icon of IP” in Law360’s 2016 list of 25 most influential attorneys who have made their mark in intellectual property law over their careers.
- Recognized as a "Winning Litigator" by The National Law Journal (2015)
- Named a “Game Changer” in The Recorder’s "2015 Litigation Department of the Year" Awards (2015)
- Named as one of the "500 Leading Lawyers in America" by Lawdragon (2015)
- Named "MVP of the Year – Intellectual Property" by Law360 (2014)
- Named by the Daily Journal as one of the top "100 Leading Lawyers in California" in 2006 and 2015
- Listed annually in Who’s Who in America®
- Repeatedly named one of "The World’s Leading Patent Litigators" in the "IAM Patent Litigation 250" published annually by IAM magazine
- Recognized by The National Law Journal as one of the “100 Most Influential Lawyers in America” (2006)
- Listed annually in "The International Who’s Who of Patent Lawyers in Who’s Who Legal – The International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers"
- Recipient of 2004 "CLAY Award" (California Lawyer Attorney of the Year for Intellectual Property) (2005 California Lawyer magazine)
- Repeatedly named by Euromoney Legal Media Group as one of the top patent law experts in the "Guide to the World’s Leading Patent Law Experts".
- Has long received the highest (AV) rating from Martindale-Hubbell, now Martindale.com
- 1993 recipient of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s 20th Annual Rossman Memorial Award for writing the best article on intellectual property
Quoted in, "Industry Commenters Say Minerva Ruling is a Win for Employee Mobility," by IPWatchdog (June 2021)
Quoted in, "Justices Lean Toward Limiting, Not Eliminating, Assignor Estoppel Doctrine in Minerva v. Hologic," by IPWatchdog (April 2021)
Quoted in, "What To Watch As Justices Eye Restriction On Patent Attacks," by Law 360 (April 2021)
Quoted in, "Supreme Court Case Pits Inventors Against Their Former Employers," by Bloomberg Law (April 2021)
Quoted in, "Monster Energy Prevails on Trademark and Trade Dress Infringement Claims, Wins Punitive Damages," (December 2018)
Quoted in "From NJ to Texas: How The Courts Fared At The Fed. Circ." (February 2018)
Quoted in "The Biggest Patent Cases of 2017" by Law 360 (December 2017)
"TC Heartland Complicates Venue For Foreign Defendants," Law 360 (June 2017)
"Manufacturers May Want to Lease -- Not Sell -- Their Patented Medical Devices," Medical Device and Diagnostic Industry (MD+DI) (June 2017)
"Litigating for the Greater Good: Knobbe Martens Lawyer Scores Big Wins," Of Counsel (March 2015)
"Why We Need Our Patent System: Masimo, OC’s Shining Example," Orange County Business Journal (November 2014)
"Litigator of the Week: Joseph Re of Knobbe Martens," The American Lawyer Litigation Daily (October 2014)
"Knobbe wins $466.7M for medical tech company," quoted in the Daily Journal (October 2014)
Co-author, “Gunn v. Minton: The Supreme Court’s Correction of the Federal Circuit’s Overly Broad Assertion of Jurisdiction Over State-Law Claims,” 38 New Matter 5 (No. 1 Spring 2013)
Co-author, "The Pendulum Has Swung Too Far: Recent Misuse of the Entire Market Value Rule to Limit Reasonable-Royalty Patent Damages," 84 Pat. Trademark & Copyright J. (BNA) 195 (June 1, 2012)
Law360 Q&A with Knobbe Martens' Joseph Re, Portfolio Media, Inc. (June 2011)
“In Pfaff Case Court Clarifies On-Sale Bar," Nat’l L.J., Feb. 8, 1999 (I.P. Supp.) at 1.
“Litigating Under Both Markman Decisions,” 1997 Patent Litigation 283 (Prac. Law Inst.).
“It’s Elementary: In Warner-Jenkenson, the Supreme court Upholds One Doctrine and Bolsters Another,” L.A. Daily J., Apr. 4, 1997, at 7.
“On Vacatur: Litigant’s Ability to ‘Wipe Slate clean’ Is Impaired,” L.A. Daily J., Apr. 7, 1995, at 7.
“Vacating Patent Invalidity Judgments Upon an Appellate Determination of Noninfringement,” 72 J. Pat. & Tm. Off. Soc’y 780 (1991), cited by the Supreme Court of the United States in Cardinal Chem. Co. v. Morton Int’l, Inc. (1993).
“Using Rule 30(b)(6) for Corporate Depositions,” 3 Prac. Litigator 83 (No. 4) 1992).
“Parallel Prosecution: Effect of Patent Prosecution on Concurrent Litigation,” 73 J. Pat. & Tm. Off. Soc’y 965 (1991).
“Federal Circuit Jurisdiction Over Appeals From District Court Patent Decisions,” 16 AIPLA Q.J., 169 (1988).
Brief Writing and Oral Argument (9th ed. Oceana Pubs. 2005), co-author.
Cases and Materials on Remedies (6th ed. Foundation Press 2005), junior editor.
Chapter 186, "Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit" in 8 West's Federal Forms - National Courts (West Pub. 2002), co-author, with annual pocket part supplements which are up to date.
Chapter 5, “The Answer and Other Responsive Filings” in Patent Litigation Strategies Handbook (2nd ed. BNA Books 2006), co-author, with annual pocket part supplements which are up to date.
Speeches & Seminars
Supreme Court Reverses Trend on Juvenile Justice, Podcast - Bloomberg (April 2021)
"Appellate Strategies for Special Circumstances at the Federal Circuit: Mandamus, Stays and Expedited Appeals", Federal Circuit Bench and Bar Conference, Nashville, Tennessee (June 23, 2016).
"Emerging Trends in Patent Litigation," USC Gould School of Law 2016 Intellectual Property Institute, Los Angeles, California (February 9, 2016).
“Recent Supreme Court Patent Case Law Update,” presented at the Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO) 42nd Annual Meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia (September 8, 2014).
“Litigating a Patent-Related Dispute in Court While the USPTO is Reexamining or Reviewing the Same Patent,” presented at the Annual Spring Meeting of the AIPLA in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (May 15, 2014).
"From Patents to Porn: The #Blurred Lines Between Intellectual Property #Trolls and Legitimate Intellectual Property Enforcement," presented at Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego, California (October 18, 2013).
“The Trial Lawyer’s Toolbox,” presented to the 37th Annual Intellectual Property Institute, IP Law Section, State Bar of California in San Diego, California (November 9, 2012).
“Patent Prosecution Through The Eyes of a Patent Litigator,” presented to the Washington State Patent Law Association in Seattle, Washington (September 19, 2012).
“Strategies for Multi-Defendant Patent Cases,” presented at the 2012 AIPLA Electronic and Computer Patent Law Summit in San Diego, California (April 2, 2012).
“Reasonable Royalty Patent Infringement Damages After Lucent, ResQNet and Uniloc,” presented at the Annual USC IP Symposium in Beverly Hills, CA (March 15, 2012).
“Disqualification of Law Firms In Patent Cases,” presented at the Annual Meeting of the AIPLA in Washington D.C. (October 21, 2011).
“Patent Prosecution Through The Eyes of a Patent Litigator,” presented to the 35th Annual Intellectual Property Institute, IP Law Section, State Bar of California in Napa, California (October 29, 2010).
“Erase the Mystery–Insight in Conducting Voir Dire,” presented to the ABTL 37th Annual Seminar in Kona, Hawaii (October 21, 2010).
Advocating Patent Cases With Emotion, presented at the Annual Spring Meeting of the AIPLA in New York, New York, (May 7, 2010).
“In Defense of Proving Patent Invalidity by Clear and Convincing Evidence,” presented at the Annual Spring Meeting of the AIPLA in Houston, Texas (May 15, 2008).