Overview

Corvane Ryle's Intellectual Property Litigation practice represents technology, life sciences, consumer products and media companies in disputes over patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets and licensing. We act for plaintiffs and defendants, and many of our lawyers hold advanced degrees in engineering, computer science, chemistry and biology.

We litigate in the federal district courts, at the International Trade Commission, before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, and in the Federal Circuit. Many disputes run in several forums at once, and we coordinate them so that positions taken in an inter partes review support the strategy in the district court. In Europe we work with colleagues on proceedings in national courts and the Unified Patent Court.

Artificial intelligence has created a new category of dispute. Authors, artists and publishers have sued model developers over the use of copyrighted works in training, and courts in the United States and elsewhere are working through fair use, text and data mining exceptions and the treatment of model outputs. We defend and advise developers and deployers on these claims, working with our Artificial Intelligence practice on the commercial and regulatory context.

We also protect what clients have built. Trade secret cases, including departures of senior employees and theft by competitors, often require emergency relief, and we are experienced in moving quickly. In consumer goods and retail, we handle trademark, trade dress and counterfeiting matters, including actions against online marketplaces.

Celeste Varga leads the practice from San Francisco, with partners in New York, Chicago, Washington, D.C. and London. Our clients include Kestrel Systems and other technology companies.

Key lawyers

Our IP litigators work with the AI and technology transactions teams on disputes at the edge of the law.

• Celeste Varga, Partner, San Francisco
• Daniel Achterberg, Partner; Global Chair, AI Practice, San Francisco

Representative experience

• Defended a software company against copyright claims relating to training data.
• Represented Kestrel Systems in a multi-patent dispute with a competitor involving ITC and district court proceedings.
• Obtained a preliminary injunction for a technology company in a trade secret case involving departed executives.
• Represented a generic manufacturer in Hatch-Waxman litigation concerning a blockbuster therapy.
• Defended a consumer brand in a trade dress action brought by a competitor.
• Obtained invalidation of key patent claims in an inter partes review for a semiconductor client.
• Acted for a retailer in an action against an online marketplace selling counterfeit goods.