• undefined
      • undefined
    1. Home
    2. People
    3. Moulton, Libby

    Libby Moulton

    Partner

    San Francisco

    Silicon Valley

    Libby’s practice focuses on the role of embedded appellate counsel in high stakes patent trials. Libby works across multiple industries for leading companies including Sonos, Zynga, and Netflix, among many others. Libby has taken 13 cases through jury verdict and dozens of cases through pretrial filings. She also leads post-trial briefing and appeal teams and has presented nine appellate arguments. Libby uses her past experience as a patent examiner, district court clerk, and Federal Circuit clerk to help clients with their most important high-tech cases.

    Libby joins trial teams – both within and outside of Orrick – and takes the role of legal strategist and brief writer. Before trial, Libby develops strategies for raising and preserving legal issues, especially Daubert issues and dispositive motions. At trial, Libby handles the charge conference, Rule 50(a) or directed verdict motions, and pocket briefing as needed. After trial, she manages the post-trial briefing and transitions the case to appeal. 

    More than half of Libby's cases involve co-counsel outside of Orrick, where she quickly develops productive and collaborative relationships with outside litigation teams. She has experience in trial courts in Delaware, Texas, California (state and federal), Massachusetts, and the ITC.

    In addition to her trial work, Libby maintains a robust appellate practice. Libby leads appellate briefing and has presented oral arguments in the Federal Circuit, Ninth Circuit, and New York Appellate Division. She has also represented clients in appeals to the Sixth Circuit, DC Circuit, California Court of Appeal, and US Supreme Court.

    Libby also has an active pro bono practice, including representing the Arizona Federal Public Defender’s Office in an ongoing administrative challenge to capital habeas proceedings.

    Prior to joining Orrick, Libby served as a law clerk to Judge Raymond C. Clevenger III of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and to Judge Ronald M. Whyte of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. Before law school, Libby was a patent examiner in the medical device area at the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

    • Jury Trials and Appeals
      • CosmoKey v. Duo and Global Tech Leader (D. Del) – Secured complete defense verdict, including noninfringement, invalidity, and prior use defense on two-factor authentication patents. Prepared 50(a) motion, argued charge conference and mid-trial claim construction issues. 
      • Sonos v. Google (ND Cal, ITC, and Federal Circuit) – Represents Sonos in ongoing patent litigation against Google. Served as embedded appellate counsel in ND Cal., where Sonos secured a per-unit royalty against accused Google Nest and Home speakers. Handled multiple rounds of mid-trial briefing, charge conference, and lead post-trial motions. Argued two IPR appeals and secured two wins invalidating Google patents asserted in district court against Sonos’ speakers.
      • Broadcom v. Netflix (ND Cal and Federal Circuit) – Represents Netflix as appellate counsel in on-going patent litigation brought by Broadcom. The trial matter ended on summary judgment and the case is now on appeal.
      • Egenera v. Global Tech Leader (D. Mass. and Federal Circuit) – Serves as appellate counsel in a case targeting the client’s UCS blade frame server, securing a noninfringement verdict at trial and defending the verdict on appeal. Handled Rule 50 motions, charge conference, and post-trial briefing. Presented oral argument to the Federal Circuit defending the jury verdict and summary judgment rulings that the client’s UCS system does not infringe Egenera’s patents.
      • IGT v. Zynga (WD Tex. and Federal Circuit) – Represents Zynga as appellate counsel at trial and achieved a complete defense verdict and multiple wins at the PTAB. Argued Rule 50(a) motion, charge conference, and mid-trial motions. Argued IPR appeal defending Zynga’s win at the PTAB, in a case raising interference estoppel.
      • WSOU v. Global Tech Leader (WD Tex.) – Serves as embedded appellate counsel, securing complete defense verdict, including noninfringement, invalidity, and prior use defense on patent to Diameter dictionaries. This case was the first successful defense verdict on prior use. Argued charge conference and prepared 50(a) motion. Now handling post-trial motions.
      • Corrigent v. Global Tech Leader (WD Tex) – Serves as embedded appellate counsel, securing Rule 50(a) judgment of noninfringement. Argued pre-trial motions including Daubert and standing motions and charge conference. The trial team received AmLaw Litigator of the Week recognition.
      • Identity Security v. Major tech company (WD Tex) – Represents a major tech company as embedded appellate counsel, securing noninfringement verdict on patents to encryption technology. Argued Rule 50(a) motions and charge conference. Assisted on dispositive motions before trial.
      • Via Transit v. RideCo. (WD Tex) – Represents Via in successfully asserting patents against competitor RideCo, defending counterclaims by RideCo, and now seeking injunction post-trial. Argued Rule 50(a) motions and charge conference. Now leading post-trial motions including permanent injunction proceedings.
      • Fundamental v. Anker (D. Del) – Represents Anker in patent litigation against Fundamental, defending against patent infringement claims on USB charging. Argued charge conference and leading post-trial briefing.
      • IBM v. Zynga (D. Del.) – Represented Zynga defending against IBM patents to online advertising. Argued 50(a) motions, mid-trial motion to strike expert testimony, charge conference, and assisted on pre-trial dispositive motions. Case settled after trial.
      • IP Bridge v. global semiconductor manufacturing company (W.D. Tex.) – Represented global semiconductor manufacturing company as appellate counsel in a four-patent case, assisting trial team with pretrial filings including jury instructions, verdict forms, motions in limine, and trial briefs in defense of patent infringement claims against global semiconductor manufacturing company’s DRAM chips.
      • Finjan v. Global Tech Leader (N.D. Cal.) – Serves as appellate counsel in a four-patent case, assisting trial team with pretrial filings including jury instructions, verdict forms, motions in limine, and trial briefs in a defense of patent infringement claims against the client’s network security products. The case settled favorably.
      • BBiTV v. DISH (W.D. Tex.) – Represented DISH as appellate counsel in a three-patent case, assisting trial team with pretrial filings including jury instructions, verdict forms, motions in limine, and trial briefs in defense of patent infringement claims. The case settled favorably.
      • Synopsys, Inc. v. Mentor Graphics Corp. (Supreme Court) – Represented Synopsys on a petition for a writ of certiorari challenging the Federal Circuit’s assignor estoppel and lost profits doctrines.
      • Cloud computing and virtualization tech company (U.S.)  v. Clouding Corp. (Federal Circuit) – Represented in an appeal involving artificial intelligence patents. The Orrick team secured a win in the Federal Circuit, which vacated and remanded a Patent Trial and Appeal Board ruling.

      Other Appellate Arguments
      • Major tech company v. Corephotonics (Federal Circuit) – Successfully reversed adverse final written decision, securing a new claim construction and remand to the Board.
      • Major tech company v. Uniloc (Federal Circuit) – Successfully defended IPR appeal.
      • Diana Juan v. U.S. Public University System (9th Circuit) – Briefed and presented oral argument, successfully defending a favorable motion to dismiss claims under the False Claims Act.
      • Ortiz v. Barr (9th Circuit) – Argued immigration matter asserting ineffective assistance of counsel. Our client ultimately obtained legal status and lives with his family in the United States.
      • People v. Folk (NY App. Div.) – Briefed and presented oral argument for Mr. Folk, securing retrial on multiple felony counts based on improper admission of evidence of trial.

      Life Sciences Matters
      • Idenix Pharmaceuticals LLC v. Global Pharmaceutical Company (D. Del. and Federal Circuit) – In this blockbuster patent case, Orrick helped persuade a federal district court to wipe out a $2.54 billion damages verdict—the largest patent verdict in history—and then defended that win on appeal. Following a long-running patent dispute and trial over a blockbuster Hepatitis C drugs, a jury awarded Idenix $2.54 billion. The Orrick team came in to assist on post-verdict motions, which led the judge to hold Idenix’s patent to be invalid as a matter of law and to wipe out the jury’s damages award. Orrick took the lead on appeal, where it persuaded the Federal Circuit to affirm the judgment of lack of enablement, and additionally to order judgment as a matter of law that Idenix’s patents also lacked written description.
      • Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. v. 10x Genomics Inc. (D. Del and Federal Circuit) – Represented 10x as appellate counsel, assisting trial team with defense of patent infringement claims against 10x’s groundbreaking microfluidics platform.
      • Plexxikon v. Novartis (N.D. Cal.) – Represented Plexxikon as appellate counsel on post-trial motions defending a $178 million infringement verdict on an anti-cancer drug. The case settled favorably after appellate briefing and before oral argument. 
      • Bayer CropScience AG v. Dow AgroSciences LLC (Federal Circuit) – Represented DAS in its appeal from the Eastern District of Virginia’s affirmance of an arbitration award of based on patents relating to genetic resistance to the herbicide glufosinate.
      • Align Technologies v. Clear Correct (S.D. Tex) – Represented Clear Correct as appellate counsel, assisting trial team with defense of patent infringement claims against Clear Correct’s invisible orthodontic aligners. The case settled favorably.

      Tort and Employment Matters
      • Asbestos litigation (California) –Represents a major engineering and construction company in litigation over exposure to asbestos at industrial sites. Assists on legal strategy and development of defenses to narrow potential liability for our client.
      • NCAA concussion litigation (national) – Represents the NCAA in concussion/CTE cases, including serving as appellate counsel in Gee v. NCAA, securing defense verdict in first concussion case to reach a full trial in the U.S. and Finnerty v. NCAA, securing defense verdict in second concussion case to go to trial in the U.S.
      • Blasdell v. Space Exploration Technologies (Cal. App.) – Represented SpaceX on appeal, successfully defending a jury verdict in favor of SpaceX in an individual employee's action alleging whistleblower retaliation.
      • Dr. Pinter-Brown v. U.S. Public University System (Cal. App.) – Represents on appeal and on retrial of adverse jury verdict on employment claims.

    Insights

    News