Scott F. Llewellyn

Scott Llewellyn’s practice involves complex litigation in federal and state courts around the country, with an emphasis on patent and trade secret disputes. Over the past decade, he has worked on some of the most significant, high-profile IP cases involving technology for televisions, smartphones, and self-driving cars, relying on 40 years of experience with computer hardware and software. Mr. Llewellyn also has significant experience with “business divorce” cases before courts and arbitrators, involving a mix of trade secret, patent, tort, and contract claims relating to the development and implementation of technology, as well as contentious, pre-litigation licensing and contract disputes requiring analysis of relevant technology and terms under applicable U.S. and EU standards.

Mr. Llewellyn has also successfully tried general commercial arbitration and agency matters, successfully briefed and argued various appeals in federal appellate court, and successfully tried more than 20 cases for the Denver City Attorney’s office, most of them jury trials. Mr. Llewellyn has been named a Colorado “Super Lawyer” for Intellectual Property Litigation and “Best Intellectual Property Lawyer” by Law Week Colorado, has received an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell in Litigation and Intellectual Property, and is the former deputy chair of Morrison & Foerster’s Intellectual Property Litigation Group.

Mr. Llewellyn also has an active pro bono practice, having worked on a variety of criminal and immigration appeals, and having represented Colorado criminal defense and mental health organizations in high-profile suits against the state of Colorado for violations of the constitutional rights of defendants. Mr. Llewellyn serves on Morrison & Foerster’s pro bono committee and on the board of the Morrison & Foerster Foundation, and is also on the boards of the Colorado Lawyers Committee and Drop in the Bucket (a charity that builds wells and sanitation systems in sub-Saharan Africa).

Mr. Llewellyn received a B.A. with honors from Yale and a J.D. with honors from the University of Michigan, where he served as executive articles editor for the Michigan Telecommunications and Technology Law Review. After law school, Mr. Llewellyn clerked for the Honorable Clarence A. Brimmer, District of Wyoming, and the Honorable Diarmuid F. O’Scannlain, Ninth Circuit. Prior to joining Morrison & Foerster’s Denver office in 2003, Mr. Llewellyn practiced at Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering in Washington, D.C., and was an adjunct professor at the Georgetown University Law Center.

Representative matters:

• Waymo v. Uber (N.D. Cal.): Represented Uber against claims of trade secret misappropriation and patent infringement for self-driving technology, resulting in mid-trial settlement on favorable terms.
• U.C. Davis v. California Berry Cultivars (N.D. Cal.): Represented U.C. Davis in suit against competing strawberry breeders for conversion and infringement of strawberry breeding and plant-patent rights, resulting in jury verdict of conversion and infringement.
• TDL v. DISH (N.D. Ill.): Represented DISH and EchoStar against patent infringement claims for television guide technology, resulting in order invalidating asserted patent.
• Smartphone litigation (N.D. Cal., ITC): Represented smartphone manufacturer in litigation against competitor for infringement of smartphone technology and design, resulting in jury awards totaling more than $1 billion, injunctive relief, and an ITC exclusion order.
• Nalco v. Turner Designs (N.D. Cal.): Represented Nalco in suit against manufacturer of fluorometers for infringement of water-treatment patent, resulting in stipulated injunction against infringement.
• e.Digital v. Pentax et al. (D. Colo.): Represented D&M and Marantz against claims of patent infringement for audio processing and storage, resulting in case-dispositive claim constructions precluding infringement.
• Forgent v. Echostar (E.D. Tex.): Represented EchoStar against claims of patent infringement for DVR technology, resulting in jury verdict invalidating the asserted patent.

Other notable matters:

• Lead counsel for prominent financial institution at preliminary injunction hearing regarding loan default, obtaining denial of preliminary injunction, with claims subsequently denied on summary judgment.
• Lead counsel for prominent consulting company in multiple cases involving trade secret, patent, tort, and/or contract claims arising from technology development and implementation, obtaining dismissal of claims via dispositive motions.
• Lead counsel for various criminal defense organizations in suit against the state of Colorado for failure to provide counsel for defendants subject to collateral consequences, successfully resolved via legislation.
• Lead counsel for numismatist at multiday, multidefendant TRO hearing on trade-secret claims, obtaining dismissal of all claims during hearing.
• Lead counsel for preeminent television-services provider in programming dispute, obtaining dismissal of most claims by motion, with the remaining claims subsequently settled on favorable terms.
• Lead counsel for pharmaceutical company at five-day arbitration hearing on contract claims related to manufacture of medical devices, obtaining rejection of wrongful termination claims.
• Lead counsel for preeminent television-services provider in trademark dispute with various celebrities, which settled on favorable terms.
• Lead counsel for energy company in arbitration of trademark dispute, which settled on favorable terms.
• Lead counsel for Denver city attorney’s office in successful trials of more than 20 criminal matters, most of them tried to juries.
• Lead counsel for real estate investor in dispute regarding sale, obtaining dismissal of most claims by motion, with the remaining claims subsequently settled on favorable terms.
• Lead counsel for preeminent financial institution at five-day arbitration hearing on lender liability claims, obtaining rejection of all claims, subsequently upheld on appeal to the Tenth Circuit.
• Lead counsel for educational association at hearing before an administrative law judge, obtaining dismissal of all claims.
• Lead counsel for prominent telecommunications provider at Seventh Circuit oral argument on consumer class-action appeal, obtaining reversal of district court decision, resulting in dismissal of claims.