Roman A. Swoopes
Roman Swoopes is head of the litigation department for Morrison Foerster’s Palo Alto office. He focuses his practice on patent, copyright, and trade secret litigation and counseling. He represents clients in industries including computer software, hardware, and peripherals, data storage, digital imaging, consumer electronics, music, and graphic design. In a case the court dubbed the “World Series of IP Cases,” Roman successfully argued in court against partial summary judgment on a copyright claim and in support of a favorable claim construction at a Markman hearing. He has represented clients at intellectual property trials, where he worked closely with expert witnesses. Roman has considerable experience in the areas of copyrightable and patent-eligible subject matter for software. He has also represented clients in disputes involving open source software licenses, such as the GNU General Public License (GPL).
In 2022 Roman was recognized as a “Lawyer on the Fast Track” as part of The Recorder’s California Legal Awards for his patent and copyright practice. Roman was also profiled in 2020 by Bloomberg Law for its “They’ve Got Next” series which spotlights young lawyers who are raising the bar in their practices.
Roman served as a law clerk to the Honorable Raymond T. Chen of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and to the Honorable Ronald M. Whyte of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Prior to law school, he worked at Accenture, one of the world’s largest information technology consulting companies.
Roman received his J.D. from Stanford Law School. He received his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and computer science from Harvard University.
Roman is admitted to practice in California and before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Experience
Nature Simulation Systems Inc. v. Autodesk Inc. (Northern District of California)
Represented Autodesk in patent case involving computer graphics and design software. Obtained walk-away dismissal of all claims with prejudice.
Wagner Aeronautical, Inc. v. Dotzenroth et al. (Southern District of California)
Represented the National Institute of Aviation Research at Wichita State University (NIAR) in a trade secret case related to programs for converting passenger jets from passenger use to cargo use. After a year of litigation the plaintiffs dismissed the case, with prejudice, without any concessions or payment by NIAR.
McCartney v. Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, et al. (Southern District of New York)
Represented Paul McCartney in a copyright lawsuit against publisher Sony/ATV regarding the rights to hundreds of Beatles songs. The case settled and prevented a legal battle that would have had wide ramifications for the music industry.
Certain Toner Cartridges and Components Thereof (International Trade Commission, 337-TA-918).
Represented International Laser Group (ILG) against patent claims brought by Canon. The case settled on favorable terms, pursuant to which ILG may continue to sell its remanufactured toner cartridges in the U.S.
Toshiba v. Imation, et al. (Western District of Wisconsin).
Represented Toshiba Corporation in a patent infringement action against several foreign manufacturers and U.S. distributors of recordable and rewritable DVDs. Won jury verdict of liability.
Certain Marine Sonar Imaging Devices, Products Containing the Same, and Components Thereof (International Trade Commission, 337-TA-898).
Represented Raymarine in patent case involving underwater imaging technology.
Oracle America, Inc. v. Google, Inc. (Northern District of California).
Represented Oracle in copyright and patent trial. Successfully argued against partial summary judgment on a copyright claim and in support of a favorable claim construction at a Markman hearing.