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Fixing Alice

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The US courts and patent office have spent years trying to solve issues created by Alice, but is it working? Michael Jacobs and Barbara Barath discuss these issues in the March 2019 edition of IP Magazine.

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The US courts and patent office have spent years trying to solve issues created by Alice, but is it working? Michael Jacobs and Barbara Barath discuss these issues in the <a target="_blank" href="https://media2.mofo.com/v3/assets/blt5775cc69c999c255/blt0ad60dcacdb4076b/6273ef237198441d81b3bec5/190300-fixing-alice.pdf">March 2019</a> edition of IP Magazine.

Fixing Alice

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Many of the world’s leading technology and life sciences companies call on Michael Jacobs to lead trial teams in their most complex litigation. He served as co-lead counsel in two of the most-watched intellectual property battles of recent memory, including a high-profile smartphone case leading to a jury verdict of over $1 billion. He defended Uber against Waymo’s autonomous vehicle trade secret claims. And the life sciences industry’s first and most successful biotechnology company looks to Michael when patent and licensing disputes arise. Michael co-founded and served as co-chair of the firm’s Intellectual Property Practice Group.Chambers has called him “a real star” and a “pillar of the Silicon Valley patent litigation community.” Clients have described him as “a very calm, strategic, and practical lawyer… [who] brings a wealth of experience, formidable intellect and legal skills, and a practical, client-friendly approach to all his engagements.” Michael is listed in Band 1 by Chambers USA 2023 and 2022 in its California Intellectual Property: Patent Litigation category, and named to the Legal 500 US 2023 Hall of Fame for Intellectual Property: Patent Litigation. Michael has won the California Lawyer Attorneys of the Year (CLAY) award three times, first for his advocacy on behalf of Intel in the Intel v. Hamidi “trespass to chattels” case, then in 2012 for his defense of Novell in SCO v. Novell, and again in 2014 for his work on a billion dollar smartphone trial.Michael’s work on several landmark cases has helped shape the laws governing emerging technologies.Early in his career, he led the technical team that represented Fujitsu in its landmark operating system software arbitration with IBM. He represented the motion picture industry in the On Command Video case, which established that on-demand video systems require a license under copyright’s public performance right. Michael represented Novell in the widely reported SCO v. Novell Linux litigation, prevailing in a bench trial on Novell’s multimillion dollar claims, defeating SCO’s $200 million claim in a three-week jury trial, and defending those results on appeal in the 10th Circuit. He also represented Autodesk in the Vernor v. Autodesk case, which established that copyright’s first sale doctrine does not immunize the re-sale of licensed software.In addition, he has represented leading life sciences companies in their cutting edge litigation, including Chiron in its hepatitis C virus protease litigation; Abraxis BioScience in a nanoparticle anticancer treatment dispute; QLT in its litigation with TAP Pharmaceutical involving the Eligard anticancer treatment; Genentech in its patent dispute with Phigenix concerning Genentech’s blockbuster drug, Kadcyla, and against Eli Lilly; and Washington University in a life sciences patent valuation dispute with the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF). He has also handled numerous high-profile arbitrations, several of which involved the interplay between arbitration and court proceedings.Michael also achieved victories in several important pro bono cases. He was co-lead counsel for the plaintiffs in the landmark Williams v. State of California class action, which led to a settlement in which the state undertook to address shocking conditions in California’s lowest performing schools. He also represented Jewish and Muslim individuals and organizations in a successful pre-election challenge to an anti-circumcision initiative slated for San Francisco’s ballot.Michael routinely speaks on cutting-edge intellectual property issues. For example, he has participated for many years in the Federal Judicial Center–Berkeley Center for Law & Technology’s education program for federal judges.

Michael A. Jacobs

Partner

Patent Litigation