Mr. Danis specializes in the trial and arbitration of patent, trade secret, product liability, and other complex litigation matters. Mr. Danis also has extensive experience conducting corporate internal investigations involving the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and antitrust matters. He has handled matters in a variety of industries including software, hardware, consumer electronics, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, aerospace, medical devices, energy, and food products.

Mr. Danis clerked for Judge Lawrence W. Pierce of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He received his J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, where he served as the Senior Articles Editor of The Hastings Law Journal. Mr. Danis received his undergraduate degree in philosophy from the University of California, Berkeley. Between college and law school, Mr. Danis developed financial software for Automatic Data Processing.

Representative high-tech matters handled by Mr. Danis include the following:

• In the Matter of Certain Digital Television Products. Counsel to complainant Funai Electric Co., Ltd. in an ITC action asserting Funai’s digital television patents against sixteen Chinese, Taiwanese, and U.S. respondents.
• Applied Materials, Inc. v. Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment, Inc. Defending Shanghai-based Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment, Inc. in a California trade secret action involving semiconductor manufacturing equipment.
• Trilogy Development Group v. Teknowledge. Defended Trilogy in a patent infringement action involving configuration software. Prior to the case settling, the firm prevailed on a summary judgment motion of invalidity.
• SuperGuide v. Thomson Consumer Electronics. Defended Thomson in patent actions involving television satellite receivers and electronic program guides.
• VISX v. Nidec. Represented plaintiff VISX in patent infringement suits involving laser vision correction equipment and methods.
• Representative life sciences and consumer products matters handled by Mr. Danis include the following:
• Watson v. H.J. Heinz Company. Lead counsel to H.J. Heinz Company in a trade secret and correction of patent inventorship action. Successfully moved to dismiss the action based upon plaintiff’s lack of standing, and the Federal Circuit unanimously affirmed.
• Coval v. Alpha Therapeutic Corporation. Represented Alpha Therapeutic in a patent infringement case involving a process for purifying intravenous gamma globulin. The firm obtained a favorable Markman ruling interpreting the patent, and the case settled during trial.
• Enzon v. Yoshitomi Pharmaceutical Industries, Ltd. Defended Yoshitomi Pharmaceutical Industries, Ltd. in a royalty dispute regarding future sales of recombinant albumin. Following a two-week arbitration, a favorable result was obtained on behalf of Yoshitomi.
• Aurora Biosciences, Inc. v. AntiCancer, Inc. Represented AntiCancer in a patent infringement case involving green fluorescent protein. The matter was settled and the parties entered into a licensing agreement.
• Imagyn Medical Technologies, Inc. v. United States Surgical Corporation. Defended Imagyn in a patent infringement action involving laparoscopic surgical devices.

Mr. Danis’s broad trial and appellate practice includes the following high-stakes constitutional and international matters.

• Brosterhous v. The State Bar of California. Lead trial counsel to the State Bar of California in First Amendment challenge to expenditures on specific Bar programs and activities.
• McLane/Suneast, Inc. v. Board of Equalization. Lead trial counsel to McLane/Suneast, Inc. in a challenge to the interpretation and application of a voter-enacted tobacco surtax.
• Barnes-Wallace v. City of San Diego. Trial and appellate counsel to San Diego families challenging the free lease of city property to discriminatory organization. Successfully obtained summary judgment invalidating the leases as violating federal and state establishment clauses.
• In Re Extradition of Kevin Artt. Trial and appellate counsel for Irish fugitive in an international extradition case. Successfully argued for bail following client’s three-year confinement. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal affirmed the grant of bail, and the request for extradition was withdrawn following trial and appeal on the merits.

From 2003 to 2006, Mr. Danis served as a Managing Partner for Operations of Morrison & Foerster. Prior to that he was a founder of the firm’s San Diego office, where he served as Managing Partner from 1999 to 2003.

He is a past Director of the Association of Business Trial Lawyers and a former Vice President of the San Diego Volunteer Lawyer Program. He was a guest speaker at the annual meeting of the San Diego and Orange County Intellectual Property Law Associations and frequently lectures on patent, antitrust, and internal investigation issues. His most recent article is “Zen and the Art of Representing Asian Litigants.”

Mr. Danis is a member of the California State Bar. He also is a registered gaikokuho-jimu-bengoshi and a member of the Daini Tokyo Bar Association.