Marc David Peters is a partner in the Intellectual Property Group and the Litigation Department in the firm’s Palo Alto office.
He represents clients in litigation and counseling involving semiconductor, electronics, and computer-related technologies. His cases have involved technologies such as virtual machine software, semiconductor fabrication equipment, gallium-nitride-based laser diodes and LEDs, hyperthreaded processors, optoelectronic transceivers, surgical lasers, synchronization software, modems, and video-on-demand servers.
Dr. Peters led the team representing Nichia Corporation in high-stakes patent litigation against Seoul Semiconductor Co. concerning short-wavelength laser diodes and LEDs. In addition to providing effective case and discovery management, Dr. Peters developed the technology tutorial and arguments that led to a successful claim construction outcome for his client. The case settled favorably shortly after the claim construction hearing.
He defended Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment (China), a Shanghai-based manufacturer of advanced semiconductor fabrication equipment, against accusations by Applied Materials of trade secret misappropriation in the Northern District of California. The case settled on confidential terms shortly before trial. He obtained a favorable settlement for Fujitsu in a case brought by BIAX Corp. alleging infringement of its hyperthreaded processor patents. He obtained summary judgment of non-infringement in favor of Trident Microsystems in the District of Delaware. NeoMagic Corp. v. Trident Microsystems, Inc., 129 F.Supp.2d 689, D.Del. (Feb. 1, 2001).
Dr. Peters helped obtain summary judgment on behalf of California's foster parents, in a pro bono case brought with the Children's Advocacy Institute. California was adjudged to violate federal law by failing to calculate and pay for the actual costs of raising foster children. As a direct result of the State's failure to reimburse foster parents as required by federal law, California's foster care system is less effective and more expensive than it should be. For their work, the Morrison & Foerster team received the 2010 President's Pro Bono Service Award from the California State Bar, and the case was selected as one of five Outstanding Pro Bono Projects of 2010 by the Daily Journal. The team successfully defended the judgment in an appeal to the Ninth Circuit.
Dr. Peters is a contributing author of the Patent Case Management Judicial Guide, published by the Federal Judicial Center and LexisNexis. A second edition is forthcoming. The guide is a comprehensive overview of best practices and procedures in patent cases and is provided to all federal district judges.
Dr. Peters is admitted to practice in California and is registered to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Dr. Peters received his J.D., with distinction, from Stanford University in 2000 and his Ph.D. in physics from the University of California, Berkeley in 1997. He was a member of the scientific team that discovered the top quark, and is a co-author of over one hundred papers in refereed journals. During graduate school, he received the UC Berkeley Faculty Associate Award for excellence in teaching, and authored the Physics 111: Laboratory Electronics course manual. Dr. Peters received his A.B. in Physics, magna cum laude, from Harvard University in 1990.