Michael M. Markman

Michael Markman is a partner in the San Francisco office.  He has a complex civil litigation and trial practice with a focus on intellectual property and commercial matters for media, software, and information technology clients.  Michael has an active pro bono practice, and has taught Pretrial Civil Litigation at U.C. Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall) since 2005.

Representative Matters

• Representing CBS, G4, Bravo, and the Arizona Republic in patent litigation against Helferich Patent Licensing LLC relating to text messaging. 
• Represented Samsung LED Co., Ltd. and Samsung LED America in an ITC investigation of OSRAM relating to LED technology.
• Counseled Microsoft in connection with its acquisition of Skype.
• Defended Palm in a District of Delaware patent infringement action involving patents alleged to cover wireless application systems and optical reader devices, and counterclaims relating to power management for handheld devices.  The Court granted summary judgment of non-infringement in Palm’s favor on all five of the plaintiff’s patents.  Intermec Technologies Corp. v. Palm, Inc., 738 F. Supp. 2d 522 (D. Del. 2010); 738 F. Supp. 2d 517 (D. Del. 2010).  The Federal Circuit affirmed.
• Represented Palm in the Eastern District of Texas involving two patents relating to portable touch screen data collection devices.  Following claim construction the plaintiff stipulated to judgment of non-infringement.  The Federal Circuit affirmed on all claims asserted against Palm.  Typhoon Touch Technologies, Inc. v. Dell, Inc., et al., 659 F.3d 1376 (Fed. Cir. 2011).
• Representing Palm in litigation in the District of Delaware involving patents relating to user interfaces for digital cameras.
• Defended Palm in litigation in which the patentee asserts infringement based on international text-messaging.  The Court granted summary judgment of non-infringement in the defendants’ favor on all asserted claims.  Technology Patents LLC v. Deutsche Telekom et al., 800 F. Supp. 2d 690 (D. Md. 2011).  The Federal Circuit affirmed.  Technology Patents LLC v. T-Mobile (UK) Ltd., 700 F.3d 482 (Fed. Cir. 2012).

Honors and Rankings

• Benchmark Litigation, Future Star - CA (2010, 2012)
• Northern California Rising Stars, Intellectual Property Litigation (2009-2012)
• Richard E. Guggenhime Pro Bono Award (2003)

Pro Bono

• Represented alleged victims of various mortgage foreclosure specialists in multiple cases.
• Filed amicus brief on behalf of the Asian American Institute and thirty-six other public interest organizations in support of a motion for preliminary injunction in litigation seeking to bar enforcement of Arizona’s SB 1070, which would have required Arizona law enforcement officers to make an on-the-spot assessment, during every stop, detention, or arrest under any other law or ordinance, of the residency status of the suspect.
• Represented plaintiffs in a landmark case concerning alleged mass electronic surveillance of internet and telephone communications by the NSA.  Over the objections of the Department of Justice, plaintiffs successfully persuaded the district court that the case should not be dismissed on the basis of the State Secret privilege.  Represented the plaintiffs on the government’s appeal of the district court’s order.  Hepting v. AT&T Corp., 439 F. Supp. 2d 974 (N.D. Cal. 2006).

Memberships and Affiliations

• Lecturer, University of California, Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall), teaching Pretrial Civil Litigation (2005-2012)
• State Bar of California
• San Mateo Legal Aid Society Board of Directors (2005-2007)
• California Democratic Party, Executive Board (2003-2005)
• San Francisco Bay Area Intellectual Property Inn of Court (2001-present)

Publications and Speeches

• "Getting Ahead in the Changing Patent Litigation Marketplace: Thinking About a New Toolkit for Pre‐Suit Coordination of Patent Joint Defense Efforts," Bloomberg Law Reports (7/7/2011), Author
• "Joint Defense Strategies and Agreements," Advanced Patent Law Institute (2008)
• "Patent Basics for the Non-Specialist 2008," Practicing Law Institute (2008)