People

Rebecca Harlow Partner

San Francisco

Rebecca’s practice includes all aspects of class action and other civil litigation in areas including privacy and data security breach litigation and arbitration and insurance litigation. She has represented multiple companies in class action litigation involving claims by consumers, employees, and institutions relating to security, privacy, and other issues. She also advises clients facing insurance coverage disputes and arbitration of contractual disputes. She has defended litigation arising out of data breaches involving claims by consumers and financial institutions and class actions bringing wiretapping and other claims against companies relating to the use of online technologies and tools like cookies, pixels, and session replay software.

Rebecca has assisted multiple clients across several industries in seeking, obtaining, and disputing the denial of insurance coverage. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, she has advised clients on insurance, contracting, and other unique issues that have arisen. Recently, Rebecca served as the senior associate in a fraud trial that was tried in-person during the height of the Omicron variant and settled after a week of trial. Rebecca’s pro bono practice focuses on immigration and civil rights issues.

Prior to joining Orrick, Rebecca was a litigation associate in the San Francisco office of another international law firm. She previously served as a pro bono fellow at Greater Boston Legal Services representing low-income clients in disputes over state cash and food assistance benefits.

Jacob M. Heath Partner

Silicon Valley

With a focus on the intersection of cybersecurity, privacy, online safety and intellectual property, Jake is a trusted advisor to one of the largest technology companies in the world and a major cloud-based communication product and service provider. His recent experience includes representing a major social media platform in litigation related to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.

Jake is adept at helping clients develop cutting-edge legal strategies and connect with judges and juries to support their online services, platforms or products while threading the rapidly evolving regulatory landscape. As he sees it, every battle—whether it involves cybercrime, fraud, brand violations, IP infringement, trade secrets or a cybersecurity breach—is an opportunity to help clients problem-solve and future-proof their business. Jake brings a breadth of experience defending clients in a wide range of matters, including commercial and tech transaction litigation, in state and federal court and regulatory investigations.

K. Patrick Herman Of Counsel

New York

Patrick's practice focuses on complex patent and other intellectual property matters. He has represented petitioners and patent owners in dozens of inter partes review proceedings relating to technologies such as automotive safety systems, catalytic materials, engine oil additives, and hard drive and other computer components.  Patrick also prosecutes patents before the USPTO in the chemical and material science fields.

In addition, Patrick has more than a decade of experience representing both plaintiffs and defendants in more traditional patent litigation. He has been involved in all phases of litigation, from developing initial strategy through appeal. Patrick has appeared in intellectual property cases before a variety of different federal district courts, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and the International Trade Commission. Applying his engineering background, he has represented clients in patent infringement litigations involving medical devices, pharmaceuticals, petrochemicals, automotive technologies, consumer electronics, and children’s toys.

Patrick's practice also extends to intellectual property counseling, including rendering opinions relating to patentability, infringement, validity, and freedom-to-operate issues, and the performance of patent diligence.

Christopher Higgins Partner

Washington, D.C.

Chris has developed a global reputation as an authoritative source on legal issues in 3D printing, and has been a featured speaker at 3D printing events around the world. His 3D printing practice includes advising startups and established 3D printing companies on all aspects of intellectual property law, cybersecurity, and technology transactions. Chris helps 3D printing clients grow their businesses and capitalize on market opportunities and represents them in court to defend or enforce IP rights. Chris' 3D printing work extends beyond the courtroom; he teaches a course at Penn State University as part of its Masters of Engineering in Additive Manufacturing and Design program.

Chris' patent litigation and IPR practice also covers a wide range of other technologies including graphics processing, digital image processing and printing, semiconductor devices and semiconductor manufacturing, data encryption, high-definition television, digital content recognition, and medical devices. Chris has also assisted clients with licensing and patent prosecution related to 3D printing, digital imaging, wireless technology, mobile communication devices, encryption, high-definition television and medical devices.

Prior to law school, Chris worked in the patent department of a medical device company and as an engineer designing electronic components for missiles, projectiles, and bombs.

R. David Hosp Partner

Boston; New York

David brings creativity and determination to all of the matters he handles, whether they involve issues that are novel and complex or more traditional. He has tried matters to both juries and judges, and prepares every one of his cases with the assumption that the matter will be tried to verdict. That attention to preparation often leads to positive results before trial in favorable settlements or rulings on motions to dismiss or on summary judgment, which saves clients time and expense.

Throughout his career, David has been involved in some of the most widely followed cases in the area of trademark, copyright, and media law. For example, David:

• Represents inventors of AI technology in connection with class action copyright claims brought by copyright owners against Databricks related to training of LLMs.
• Advises AI technology companies with respect to litigation risks and potential copyright and Lanham Act claims
• Represents Altice in defending cases brought by the music industry alleging secondary liability for subscribers’ alleged infringement of musical works utilizing BitTorrent on Altice’s internet platforms;
• Represents the University of Washington in defense of First Amendment claims brought by a professor where UW was recently granted summary judgment on all claims;
• Recently represented UW in successful defense of defamation claims brought by Project Veritas over debunking of 2020 election interference reports;
• Recently represented blockchain company partnered with Quentin Tarantino in successful defense of first-impression copyright and trademark claims brought by Miramax over the creation and sale of NFTs involving the hand-written script for the motion picture Pulp Fiction;
• Represented Samsung in successful defense and settlement of trademark and unfair competition claims brought in the Southern District of New York regarding Samsung’s MILK music streaming service;
• Represented Microsoft in successful defense and settlement of copyright claims filed in the Southern District of New York by Getty Images, Inc. related to the operation of Bing search engine;
• Represented New Balance at trial in the International Trade Commission in the successful defense of trade dress claims brought by Nike/Converse. That case was cited by IP Law360 as the top trademark ruling of 2016;
• Served as Aereo’s lead trial counsel in the successful defense in the Southern District of New York (874 F. Supp.2d 373 (S.D.N.Y. 2012)) and lead appellate counsel in the successful appeal at the Second Circuit (712 F.3d 676 (2d Cir. 2013)). The case was ultimately decided by the Supreme Court on an issue of first impression in 2015;
• Represented Cablevision in the Southern District of New York in Cartoon Network LLP v. CSC Holdings, Inc. (478 F. Supp. 2d 607 (S.D.N.Y. 2007)), and was instrumental in developing the arguments that ultimately succeeded at the Second Circuit, which clarified copyright law on issues of both reproduction and public performance (536 F.3d 121 (2d Cir. 2008);
• Served as lead trial counsel for Triumph Learning in the successful defense of trademark claims in Coach Services, Inc. v. Triumph Learning LLC (96 U.S.P.Q.2d 1600 (T.T.A.B. 2010)), and successfully defended that verdict before the Federal Circuit (668 F.3d 1356 (Fed. Cir. 2012)) in a decision that established a new standard for “fame” in trademark dilution cases;
• Served as lead trial counsel for the New York Times and The Boston Globe in Gatehouse v. The New York Times, a case of first impression that involved both copyright and trademark claims, which settled favorably just prior to trial (2012);
• As a senior associate, served as a member of the trial and appellate team in Lorillard v. Reilly, a case that was ultimately decided in the client’s favor at the United States Supreme Court (533 U.S. 525 (2001)), in one of the leading First Amendment commercial speech decisions in recent jurisprudence.

The Hollywood Reporter has previously included David in its annual Power 100 edition, highlighting the most influential media attorneys in the country, and naming his team’s defense of Aereo, Inc. against claims brought by the country’s major television broadcasters at the trial court and before the Second Circuit as the “Case of the Year.” He has been recognized as a leading practitioner in The American Lawyer, The World Trademark Review 1000, and The Legal 500, among other legal publications. He also writes extensively about the law, and has lectured at Harvard Law School’s Berkman Center, Boston College Law School and the New England School of Law.

Johannes Hsu Senior Associate

Orange County

Johannes's practice focuses on patent litigation, especially in the fields of electronics, circuits, computer and network systems, software, and telecommunications. He has litigated in district courts, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, and the U.S. International Trade Commission. He also leverages his technical and operational experience in data-privacy and data-security matters.

Before joining Orrick, Johannes clerked for the Honorable R. Gary Klausner in the Central District of California. He assisted Judge Klausner on a wide variety of civil matters. In particular, he worked on many intellectual-property disputes involving patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets. Johannes began his legal career primarily as a patent prosecutor at one of the largest intellectual-property boutique firms in the United States.

Before becoming an attorney, Johannes worked for over 20 years as an engineer in high-tech and aerospace industries. He held increasing responsibilities and was last a manager and a senior principal engineer at one of the top two fabless-semiconductor companies in the world. His work in those positions had a direct and significant impact on virtually every chip of a one-billion-dollar product line.

A technical leader and a functional manager, he interacted regularly with upper management in engineering and marketing and worked closely with cross-disciplinary teams. His substantial engineering experience encompasses a wide array of technologies, from communication systems, digital-security systems, to hardware and embedded-software design. In addition to developing digital-security technologies, Johannes also set operational security policies for his engineering organization and developed a secure infrastructure which he led through a successful third-party audit.

Yali Hu Senior Associate

Pechino

Yali assists local- and foreign-based multinational companies with all aspects of their intellectual property rights in China, Europe and the United States, including Section 337 U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) litigation. Yali has extensional experience in patent, trademark, domain name, copyright and trade secret.

Yali’s intellectual property-related services include patent filing and subsequent maintenance affairs for her clients.

Mimiao Hu Of Counsel

Pechino

Her work has included trademark and copyright protection strategies, intellectual property litigation, unfair competition, intellectual property due diligence, cybersquatting and related technology issues. Mimiao has also advised clients on export regulation of military and dual-use items and customs regulation in China. In addition, Mimiao works extensively on cybersecurity & data privacy issues for both Chinese and international clients.

Prior to joining Orrick, Mimiao was a senior associate in the Beijing and Shanghai offices of a major PRC law firm.

Annette Hurst Partner

San Francisco

Annette is an experienced trial lawyer who has tried copyright, trade secret, trademark, patent and business tort claims. As a risk analyst and problem solver with deep proficiency in the software industry, Annette is a go-to counselor and speaker regarding the legal issues surrounding access and use of datasets in the development of machine learning algorithms. She was named “Litigator of the Week” by The American Lawyer for her work as co-lead counsel on the Mattel/MGA case. Chambers USA ranks her in Band 1 for Trademark, Copyright & Trade Secrets, with clients reporting that she is “smart, creative and terrific at oral argument” and “a very well-known authority in copyright law, a great advocate and a great trial lawyer.” Chambers reports: “Clients agree that Annette Hurst is ‘a very powerful and experienced trial lawyer for copyright cases, and a good team leader who is reliable before judges,” and “Peers consider Annette Hurst a ‘remarkably intuitive’ lawyer who ‘brings unique perspectives to soft IP cases.” Since 2018, The Legal 500 has recognized Annette as a “Leading Lawyer” in copyright law, and she was named “Female Litigator of the Year West” by Benchmark Litigation in 2013. Annette has been repeatedly named one of the top 75 IP litigators in California by The Daily Journal.

Annette’s community and professional activities include past service on the Northern District of California Patent Local Rules Committee, President of the Lafayette Elementary School PTA, and past membership on the Board of Directors of the Volunteer Legal Services Program and Board of Directors of the Bar Association of San Francisco for which she was chair of the Finance and Investments Committee. She also is a past member of the Board of Directors of the Legal Aid Society of San Francisco and the Board of Governors of the Association of Business Trial Lawyers, Northern California Chapter, as well as a past president of the Barristers Club.

John Inge Counsel

Tokyo; Washington, D.C.

John has experience handling matters involving a wide range of technologies, including semiconductor devices, consumer electronics, communications systems, computers and associated equipment, radar, optics (including fiber optics), medical and surgical devices, display systems, lighting devices, printing systems, electronic photography, energy storage devices and plastic molding technology. 

John's legal practice spans patent litigation, interferences, validity and infringement investigations, and negotiations and licensing involving all aspects of intellectual property. Joint venture and research and development agreements in an international context are a particular area of his focus. He frequently counsels clients in both the United States and Japan on patent portfolio management and intellectual property strategies.

John currently teaches a course on International Intellectual Property Strategy at Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo. He previously served on the adjunct faculty of George Mason University School of Law, teaching courses on interference practice and other advanced areas of U.S. PTO practice. He also taught international intellectual property law at Temple University Law School’s Tokyo campus. He also was the longest-serving chairman of the Board of Directors of Yokohama International School, one of the world’s oldest and most prestigious institutions of secondary international education, and he currently chairs the school’s Board of Trustees. John regularly lectures throughout the Pacific Rim on intellectual property law topics. He is also a frequent lecturer on U.S. patent practice at public and in-house seminars in Japan.

Thomas James Senior Associate

Chicago

Thomas's patent litigation practice is an outgrowth of his deep interest in technology and love of client service. Thomas has assisted clients, large and small, plaintiff and defendant, in obtaining outcomes that serve their unique business goals. Thomas is well-versed in a variety of technologies including semiconductor devices, telecommunications, and other electrical and mechanical disciplines. Prior to entering private practice Thomas served as a patent examiner with the United States Patent and Trademark Office for many years.

Travis Jensen Partner

Silicon Valley

Able to quickly understand complex technology in the litigation context, Travis is particularly well-suited to resolve patent disputes involving semiconductor processes and circuits such as NAND flash memory, microcontrollers, wireless payment technologies, and related areas. After earning advanced degrees in electrical engineering, and before embarking on his legal career, Travis worked at Intel Corp. and co-founded a fabless semiconductor design company.

Travis has used his distinctive skillset to litigate technically complex patent cases to verdict, and obtain favorable settlements for several of the world’s leading technology companies such as Microchip, Synopsys, AT&T, and SanDisk. Travis has successfully first chaired patent and non-patent jury cases to verdict in federal and state court, including while on secondment to the San Francisco District Attorney's Office.  Travis has handled numerous appeals before the Federal Circuit, and, as a registered patent attorney, served as lead and back-up counsel in post-grant proceedings (inter partes review and ex parte reexamination) at the PTO.