Patricia A. Martone

Partner

New York, (212) 468-8013

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Education

New York University (B.A., 1968)
;
Johns Hopkins University (M.A., 1969)
;
New York University School of Law (J.D., 1973)

Practices

Patent Litigation

Intellectual Property Litigation

Technology Transactions

Bar Admissions

New York
U.S. Patent & Trademark Office

Patricia A. Martone is a trial lawyer with 36 years of experience litigating intellectual property cases. She specializes in cases that involve cornerstone IP, high-stakes patent cases, and global litigation. Her clients are located in the United States, Europe, and Japan.

Ms. Martone has tried 12 cases to verdict or judgment, and has served as lead trial counsel in 50 patent cases. She played a leading role for Polaroid in the landmark patent infringement liability and damages trials in Polaroid v. Kodak, which still holds the record for largest damages award ever paid in a patent case at over $900 million.

She also tried for Motorola the widely publicized case brought against them by the National Basketball Association concerning the protectability of on-line content. Her closing argument after trial and appellate briefing led Motorola to a complete victory, defeating the NBA’s efforts to assert a protectable ownership interest in basketball scores and statistics displayed on a paging device. Ms. Martone has also led the licensing and enforcement activities of major patent holders. For example, she served as lead counsel representing Plasma Physics and Solar Physics in more than 20 patent infringement suits involving seminal inventions in the fields of semiconductor manufacturing processes and display technology. In the end, she licensed more than ninety percent of the amorphous silicon flat panel display market, and the world’s largest manufacturers of semiconductor wafers in a program profiled by EE Times and Corporate Counsel.

Ms. Martone’s strategic and tactical litigation skills and courtroom expertise inform her abilities as a highly effective negotiator. Over the past 10 years, she has negotiated settlements that have yielded over $180 million in licensing fees for her clients. She has personally closed more than 40 license agreements. She is also experienced in resolving, through negotiation or litigation, disputes about patent license agreements. Recently, Ms. Martone served as lead trial counsel for Ricoh Company Ltd., defending the company in a major breach of patent license agreement case brought by Eastman Kodak Company.

Ms. Martone is a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America, a trial lawyer honorary society, and perennially ranked as a leader in the field of intellectual property law by publications such as Chambers Global, Best Lawyers in America, Who’s Who Legal, Legal 500, Managing IP and Euromoney's Expert Guides. Chambers Global, in reporting on Ms. Martone record in “high-stakes patent disputes” stated, “Sources appreciate her excellent understanding of technology and also praise her determination, intelligence, and aggressiveness in court.” Ms. Martone is an Adjunct Professor of Law at New York University School of Law, where she teaches a course in patent litigation. She also serves on the Joint Committee on Local Rules for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York.

Otto Bock HealthCare LP v. Össur Hf et. al., 8:13-cv-00891, (C.D. Cal. 2013)

Lead counsel for Otto Bock in suit for patent infringement and breach of contract relating to lower limb prosthetics.

Ricoh Company, Ltd. v. Eastman Kodak Company (S.D. N.Y. Bankruptcy Court 2013)

Lead patent counsel for Ricoh in this adversarial proceeding for infringement of eight Ricoh patents relating to printing technology.

Eastman Kodak Company v. Ricoh Company, Ltd. (S.D.N.Y. 2012)

Lead counsel for Ricoh in Kodak's suit alleging breach of a patent license agreement and seeking significant royalties claimed to be owed by Ricoh to Kodak as a result of Ricoh's acquisition of Pentax Imaging Systems.

Stemina Biomarker Discovery, Inc. v. Metabolon, Inc.; Metabolon, Inc. v. Stemina Biomarker Discovery, Inc. (W.D. Wisc. 2012)

Lead counsel for Metabolon in a declaratory judgment action brought by Stemina Biomarker against Metabolon, and in Metabolon’s patent infringement suit against Stemina Biomarker. The Metabolon patents at issue relate to methods for creating, compiling, and identifying metabolomic data indicative of various disease states.

Realtime Data, LLC, D/B/A IXO v. Packeteer, et al., (E.D. Tex.)

Co-lead counsel for Realtime Data in a patent infringement suit in the Eastern district of Texas against four manufacturers of equipment and software and their customers in the WAN Optimization and Application Delivery markets. Obtained favorable Markman, pretrial, and summary judgment rulings for Realtime Data. Took the cases through the beginning of trial in January of 2010, and negotiated successful settlements with the remaining defendants after jury selection. These cases established a licensing program for Realtime Data.

In re: Halftone Color Separations (‘809) Patent Litigation (C.D. Cal.)

Lead counsel for Ricoh Americas. Successfully settled patent infringement case in a multidistrict litigation about printing technology.

Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. v. MediaTek, Inc. (C.D. Cal.)

Lead counsel for Sanyo Electric in a patent infringement action brought against MediaTek for infringement of two patents relating to CD-ROM decoder chips. Obtained dismissal of MediaTek’s counterclaim for patent infringement on summary judgment. Successfully defeated defendant’s motions for non-infringement winning all claim construction issues. Defeated summary judgment motions directed to Sanyo’s damages case, establishing the right of a foreign plaintiff to recover lost profits in the Unites States. The case settled after being fully prepared for trial as part of a global settlement of this case and the Texas case between the same parties. Reported decisions can be found at 2006 WL 454 2736 (C.D Cal.) and 2006 WL 453 2984. (C.D. Cal).

MediaTek, Inc. v. Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. (E.D. Tex.)

Lead counsel for Sanyo Electric in a patent infringement action brought against Sanyo for infringement of three patents relating to digital signal processing chips. Markman decision was largely favorable to Sanyo. The case settled on the eve of trial as part of a global settlement of this case and the Los Angeles case between the same parties.

British Telecommunications v. Verizon Communications et al. (D. Del.)

Lead counsel for BT in six patent infringement suits brought by BT against telecom companies for infringement of patents covering the installation of fiberoptic cable. The cases were successfully settled at various stages.

Plasma Physics and Solar Physics v. various flat panel and semiconductor makers (E.D. N.Y.)

Lead counsel for plaintiffs in patent infringement actions brought against 14 major Japanese and Korean manufacturers of semiconductors and flat panel displays. Successfully settled all of the cases, establishing a major patent licensing program for Plasma Physics and Solar Physics.

Plasma Physics v. IBM (E.D. N.Y.)

Lead counsel for Plasma Physics in cases against IBM, AMD, TI, STMicroelectronics, Analog Devices, and Conexant. The cases were filed in June 2002. Successfully settled all cases, some on the eve of trial.

NBA v. Motorola & STATS (S.D. N.Y)

Bench trial of trademark, copyright and unfair competition action in April 1996. Handled the bulk of the courtroom work and made the closing argument after trial. Motorola won on all but the unfair competition claim in the District Court, and won on unfair competition in the Second Circuit. Reported decisions can be found at 939 F. Supp. 1071 (S.D.N.Y. 1996); rev’d in part, vacated in part and aff’d in part; 105 F.3d 841 (2 Cir. 1997).

American Hospital Supply et al. v. Fisher Scientific Company (C.D. Cal.)

Lead counsel for defendant in trial of patent infringement action. The case, which was tried to a jury in January 1987, successfully settled during trial.

Pino v. Dalsheim (S.D. N.Y.)

Lead counsel for plaintiff in bench trial of prisoner’s rights action in 1984. Plaintiff was awarded injunctive relief, expungement of his record, and damages. At the time, Ms. Martone was a partner in the firm of Fish & Neave. The court awarded Fish & Neave its attorneys’ fees. The firm also received an award from the Legal Aid Society of New York City for its work on the case. Reported decision can be found at 605 F. Supp. 1305 (S.D.N.Y. 1984).

Polaroid Corp. v. Eastman Kodak Co. (D. Mass.)

Bench trial of patent infringement case. Seven Polaroid patents were found valid and infringed after the five-month liability trial in 1981. While still an associate, Ms. Martone had a major role before, during, and after the trial in overall case strategy and organization, and writing key briefs. She also argued evidentiary motions and examined a witness at the trial. As a young partner, she had a leading courtroom role in the 1989 damages trial. The court awarded Polaroid $900 million, and ruled in Polaroid’s favor on the issues presented by Ms. Martone at the damages trial, rejecting Kodak’s main defense that its entry into the instant photography market benefited Polaroid by expanding the market. The case was settled for $925 million. Reported decisions can be found at 641 F. Supp. 828 (D. Mass. 1985), aff’d, 789 F.2d 1556 (Fed. Cir. 1986) (liability) and 16 U.S.P.Q.2d 1481 (D. Mass. 1990), modified 17 U.S.P.Q.2d 1711 (D. Mass. 1991) (damages trial).