Scott Oliver specializes in the litigation and trial of patent, copyright, and complex technology-related cases in state and federal courts, as well as before the International Trade Commission.
He was pivotal in the litigation that shuttered the digital file-sharing services Napster and MP3.com. He later defended Audiogalaxy, another music sharing service, against a flurry of recording industry lawsuits. He negotiated a settlement of those cases that satisfied the plaintiffs and left the Audiogalaxy founders free to start a new service.
Mr. Oliver's ongoing matters also involve patent litigation for a global corporation and intellectual property owner, asserting its patent rights for the first time and patent litigation in the ITC and district courts on behalf of a major semiconductor manufacturer.
Mr. Oliver also represented ESS in its law suit against MediaTek. MediaTek's DVD players had onscreen menus with icons that appeared to be based on ESS's menus. While menus and icons are given only limited copyright protection, ESS moved for a preliminary injunction and, on reviewing the evidence Mr. Oliver amassed, the judge commented that "there are rather remarkable similarities." Before an injunction could be issued, MediaTek capitulated, paying $90 million, the highest-paid copyright settlement in history.
While earning his J.D., Mr. Oliver was elected to the Order of the Coif, and was also a lead Articles Editor for The University of San Diego Law Review.