Daily Journal Selects Covington Defense of Dropbox Inc. as one of its 2019 Top Verdicts

Daily Journal Selects Covington Defense of Dropbox Inc. as one of its 2019 Top Verdicts

March 3, 2020

SAN FRANCISCO—The Daily Journal has selected Covington's successful defense of Dropbox Inc., in Ironhawk Technologies v. Dropbox Inc., as one of its 2019 Top Verdicts, recognizing the largest and most significant verdicts in California in 2019.

The Covington team led by Clara Shin and Jeff Davidson secured a significant victory on behalf of Dropbox in a trademark lawsuit pending in the Central District of California. Dropbox brought Covington in a few months before trial to reorient its summary judgment strategy and try the case if necessary. The lawsuit was filed by Ironhawk Technologies, a defense contractor, which alleged that Dropbox had infringed its trademark rights in the term “Smart Sync” by using the term to describe one of the features of Dropbox’s service offering. Ironhawk sought nearly $100 million in damages. Affirming Dropbox’s position in its entirety, the court awarded summary judgment to Dropbox after oral argument, holding that Ironhawk’s trademark rights were weak and that there was no likelihood of consumer confusion. 

The Covington team also included Laura Brookover, Rebecca Jacobs, Matthew Verdin, Isaac Chaput, Diane Ramirez, and Rohna Houston.