Gabriel M. Ramsey

Gabriel M. Ramsey, a partner in the Silicon Valley office, a member of the Intellectual Property Group and a leader of the Entertainment and Gaming Group and the Internet Safety, Security and Privacy Group, focuses his practice on intellectual property litigation.  In 2012, Mr. Ramsey was named one of the top 75 IP litigators in California by The Daily Journal. In 2013, Mr. Ramsey was recognized as an "IP Star" by Managing Intellectual Property magazine.

He has substantial experience in high technology- and entertainment-related matters involving copyright, trademark, trade secret and patent law.  He has significant experience in carrying out Internet enforcement actions involving cybercrime, fraud and deceptive activity, brand violations, intellectual property infringement and privacy breaches.  He also has handled many licensing matters and general commercial disputes.

Mr. Ramsey has represented Fox Entertainment Group, Fox Broadcasting, Microsoft Corp., Facebook, Inc., McAfee, Inc., Namco Bandai Games, NVIDIA Corp., IGN Entertainment, Inc., CNET Networks, Inc., eHarmony.com, VideoEgg.com, Audible Magic Corp., Affinity Circles, Inc., Gracenote, Inc., Universal Studios, The Walt Disney Company, Lucasfilm, Ltd., LucasArts Entertainment Co., Digidesign and Mesa/Boogie, Ltd.  His notable representations include the following:

Intellectual Property Matters

• Fox Entertainment Group and Fox Broadcasting Corp.  Mr. Ramsey successfully defended Fox in a patent infringement action involving forward error correction techniques allegedly used in television broadcasts.
• Photobucket.  Mr. Ramsey successfully defended Photobucket in a patent infringement case involving online photosharing and access control technologies.
• MGA Entertainment, Inc.  Mr. Ramsey is part of a team defending MGA in a copyright, trade secret and contract matter involving fashion dolls.
• Affinity Circles, Inc.  Mr. Ramsey successfully represented Affinity Circles in a trade secret dispute involving social networking technology.
• eHarmony.com.  Mr. Ramsey represented eHarmony in a multi-defendant patent litigation involving load-balancing web and application servers. 
• International Game Technology.  Mr. Ramsey defended IGT in a patent litigation involving digital gaming technology, which resulted in invalidation of the asserted patents on summary judgment.
• VideoEgg.com.  Mr. Ramsey provides intellectual property advising and counseling to this Web-based video publishing company.
• Gracenote, Inc.  Mr. Ramsey represented Gracenote in a patent litigation involving online music recognition technology.
• The Walt Disney Company.  Mr. Ramsey has advised the Walt Disney Company on copyright matters.
• Universal Studios, Lucas Digital, and Oscar-Winning Special Effects Artist Christopher Boyes.  Mr. Ramsey assisted these clients in the successful defense of a copyright infringement case involving the motion picture The Lost World: Jurassic Park.
• Connectix Corporation.  Mr. Ramsey represented Connectix in a dispute over the creation of a video game hardware emulator involving copyright, trade secret and patent claims.
• Lucasfilm, Ltd. and LucasArts Entertainment Co.  Mr. Ramsey represented these clients as plaintiffs in a trademark infringement action, resulting in a finding of infringement on summary judgment.
• Pioneer Corporation.  Mr. Ramsey represented Pioneer in an ongoing industry standard-setting process involving the adoption of a digital video copy protection solution based on DVD watermarking technology.

Internet Security, Safety And Brand Protection Matters 

        Botnets

• Initiated a John Doe lawsuit to disable 96 IP addresses and thousands of domains that controlled the million computer "Rustock" botnet, capable of sending 30-40 billion spam email messages per day.  The botnet was the single largest source of spam in the world.  This action decimated this massive criminal infrastructure.
• Initiated a John Doe lawsuit to disable 276 domains that controlled the 400,000 computer "Waledac" botnet capable of sending nearly 1.5 billion spam email messages per day. This action was the first civil action of its kind.

        Cybercrime, Fraud, Abuse

• Identified and successfully pursued participants in an international criminal organization responsible for an enormous volume of fake pharmaceutical and adult spam email.
• Identified and pursued defendant that used Internet means to misappropriate and convey confidential technical material in a trade secret and corporate espionage matter.
• Prosecuted action against parties fraudulently manipulating email spam filters and carrying out illegal automated creation of email accounts and spam email activity.
• Successfully implemented enforcement program to disrupt distribution of pirated software through offshore file-sharing sites and peer-to-peer networks.
• Investigate and pursue credit card fraud ring abusing online gaming platform.
• Investigated and initiated international civil litigation and law enforcement referrals against an "advance fee fraud" ring.
• Investigated and pursued perpetrators of an online and telephonic "customer support" scam.
• Prosecuted action against website publisher and internet traffic provider in a novel Internet case related to "click" fraud and related fraudulent online advertising practices.
• Investigated and pursued party engaged in fraudulent manipulation of search engine promotional program.
• Investigated and advised regarding various malware and adware programs.
• Defending Microsoft in Holomaxx v. Microsoft, a matter involving use and implementation of spam email filters.

        Brand Protection

• Prosecuted actions against cybersquatters infringing trademarks
• Carried out international enforcement actions against promoters and distributors of counterfeit goods, including consumer products, digital works, software and pharmaceutical products.