Appellate and IP Teams Secure Important Federal Circuit Patent Win for Donghee America

December.04.2019

Backing our Supreme Court and Appellate and IP teams, the Federal Circuit this week rejected patent infringement claims against Donghee America in a case related to the manufacture of plastic fuel tanks through blow molding. The ruling upheld a lower court decision granting summary judgment to Donghee after finding its products do not infringe two patents of competitor Plastic Omnium for making plastic fuel tanks.

The published opinion found Donghee’s argument for non-infringement “was consistent with (the court’s) claim construction order based on undisputed differences between the asserted patents and the accused product.”

This is the latest win for Donghee in the litigation. A trial team led by partner Alyssa Caridis knocked out many of the patent infringement claims during the summary judgment stage, leading to the appeal of two contested claims in the Federal Circuit. Partner Eric Shumsky, who argued the case in the Federal Circuit, led the appellate effort.

In addition to Eric and Alyssa, the trial and appellate team included Mel Bostwick, Ned Hirschfeld, Jeremy Peterman, Vickie Feeman, Claudia Frost, Andrew Kim, Amy Maruska and former associate Nick Lam.

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Alyssa Caridis Partner, Intellectual Property

Los Angeles; Santa Monica

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D:+1 213 612 2372
E: [email protected]

Practice:

Intellectual Property

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Alyssa Caridis Partner

Los Angeles; Santa Monica

Alyssa handles complex patent and copyright litigation, open source licensing and IP counseling. She has represented companies in all stages of litigation — from pre-suit investigation, through trial, and on to appeals courts. She draws upon her engineering degree from Harvey Mudd College to engage with technical professionals and quickly grasp new technologies. Alyssa has represented clients in connection with a broad spectrum of technologies, ranging from CMOS image sensors and communication systems to software and peripheral computer components to projects in both the aerospace and automotive industries.

Alyssa has received top market recognition by both Bloomberg Law and Daily Journal’s 40 Under 40 List of Rising Stars in 2022. The Daily Journal also recognized Alyssa as one of its Top Women Lawyers in California for the first time in 2023.

The American Lawyer has recently recognized Alyssa and her team for the following exceptional work:

On behalf of Sonos, Orrick was recognized for securing a summary judgment on a key patent claim in the federal court case against Google.
Also for Sonos, our team secured a win in a patent infringement jury trial against Google. Jurors found that Google smart speakers and media players infringed one of the two patents Sonos was asserting at trial and awarded the company a $2.30 royalty on more than 14 million units for a total of more than $32.5 million in damages.
Orrick defended Zynga in patent ligation brought by gambling technology company IGT. In what was initially a six-patent case that was whittled down pre-trial, jurors in Austin, Texas found that Zynga’s casino slot games, including Game of Thrones and Hit it Rich, didn’t infringe IGT’s last patent standing. What’s more, jurors found IGT’s patent was invalid due to obviousness.

Alyssa calls Southern California home, but remains loyal to the sports teams of her Bay Area childhood.

Eric Shumsky Partner, Supreme Court & Appellate, Intellectual Property

Washington, D.C.; San Francisco

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D:+1 202 339 8464
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Practice:

Supreme Court & Appellate
Intellectual Property
Complex Litigation & Dispute Resolution

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Eric Shumsky Partner

Washington, D.C.; San Francisco

Chambers USA reports that Eric is “hailed as ‘highly intelligent, an effective communicator and a great writer’ by contacts, and his high-profile work in the tech patent sector is of particular interest to those who recognize him as one who ‘prepares meticulously, anticipates every question, and is a gifted orator.’” Legal 500 touts his “exceptional courtroom demeanor and presentation skills” as one of “the finest appellate litigators in the nation.” And Reuters, in a report reviewing some 17,000 practitioners, identified Eric as part of an “elite cadre” of 75 lawyers who are “the most influential members of one of the most powerful specialties in America: the business of practicing before the Supreme Court.”

Eric has served as appellate counsel to a who’s who of leading companies, including AT&T, DISH Network, Facebook, Genentech, Gilead, KPMG, LG Electronics, LinkedIn, Lyft, Microsoft, Morgan Stanley, Netflix, Norfolk Southern, Synopsys, Twitter, and Union Carbide. Across an array of industries, Eric has briefed and argued issues as diverse as patent and copyright, labor and employment, preemption, punitive damages, environmental law, national security, and foreign sovereign immunity. He has been a primary author of more than 100 briefs in the Supreme Court alone.

Eric has particular proficiency in matters of technology and intellectual property. He regularly litigates novel issues concerning the regulation of the internet, including CDA Section 230, computer fraud, takedown notices, and internet domain names. He has been counsel in dozens of patent appeals in the Federal Circuit—litigating patents ranging from semiconductor construction, computer architecture, and genetic sequencing to tobacco curing, keyboard trays, and electrical junction boxes. A former law clerk on the Ninth Circuit and the Central District of California, Eric has extensive experience in the California state and federal appellate courts where tech issues commonly arise.

In addition to traditional appellate work, Eric has years of experience developing legal strategy in high-profile and complex cases in trial courts. Eric has performed this role in high-stakes multi-district litigation, criminal trials, and civil litigation involving critical dispositive motions.

Prior to joining Orrick, Eric was a partner in the appellate group at Sidley Austin.