O'Melveny & Myers LLP.
Brett J. Williamson
Partner
Brett Williamson is a Partner in O’Melveny’s Newport Beach office and a founding member of the Intellectual Property and Technology Practice within the Litigation Department. He focuses on representing technology companies in intellectual property matters, with an emphasis on patent infringement, technology trade secrets, and antitrust litigation. He has been consistently named a “Super Lawyer” in Intellectual Property Litigation in a survey conducted by Law Politics Media Inc. and published in Los Angeles Magazine (2007-2013), and he has been described as a “notable trade secret lawyer” by Legal 500. Brett is also a longtime member of the Firm's administrative leadership team, having recently completed his five year term (2006-2011) as Managing Partner of the Newport Beach office.
Illustrative Professional Experience
Brett prosecutes and defends patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret, unfair competition, and antitrust cases in the computer hardware and software, medical technology, consumer products, electronics, telecommunications, and semiconductor industries. His litigation experience includes technologies as diverse as artificial respirators, neurological therapies, cardioplegic pharmaceuticals, automated loan origination and financial services, optoelectronic transceivers, surface emitting lasers, wireless networking methods, gaming machines and systems, biometric sensors, thermal printers, video conferencing, sports trading cards, and digital rights management and encryption software.
Recent Engagements
Brett recently prevailed in a three-week trial for a global leader in the development of innovative pharmaceutical and medical device products involving misappropriation of trade secrets against a major competitor relating to the marketing of the client's leading pharamaceutical product. Brett continues to represent the company in a Lanham Act case against the same competitor.
Brett represented a global leader in the design, manufacture, and sale of computerized gaming machines and systems in defending a patent infringement claim involving multi-line slot machines. Following a favorable claim construction after the Markman hearing, the client prevailed on a motion for summary judgment resulting in a full dismissal of all claims, which was affirmed by the Federal Circuit on appeal (521 F.3d 1328 (2008)). Brett also serves as lead litigation counsel for teh client in other major patent cases, including successful infringement claims against a competitor in the District of Delaware, and prevailing on antitrust counterclaims brought in the District of Nevada.
Brett currently represents the successor-in-interest to a pioneering Internet services company in enforcement of a patent covering web-based video conferencing systems and methods against multiple defendants.
Central Admixture Pharmacy Services, Inc. v. Advanced Cardiac Solutions. Brett represented plaintiff CAPS and the inventor/assignee, Dr. Gerald Buckberg, in a case involving a patent for intravenous pharmaceuticals used during open heart surgery to minimize heart muscle damage caused by the interruption of blood flow. At trial, Brett successfully proved willful infringement, and defeated counterclaims alleging invalidity, false advertising under the Lanham Act, false marking under the Patent Act, and Walker Process monopolization under Section 2 of the Sherman Act. The Court entered a permanent injunction, estimated to be worth tens of millions of dollars in recovered sales revenue.
Brett is currently representing the largest Southern California retail banking and lending institution in multi-defendant patent infringement litigation involving claims to a process for evaluating the credit of prospective home mortgage borrowers.
Brett represents a leading retailer of office supplies in defending an infringement complaint on a patent that claims a method for authentication of Internet-based transactions. He has previously defended several other companies in similar cases, all of which settled on favorable terms for the clients.
Brett represents a leading provider of infrastructure solutions for wireless communications networks in the enforcement of patents covering an innovative method of connecting components to a multi-layer printed circuit board while minimizing power demands.
TransAct Technologies, Inc. v. FutureLogic, Inc. Brett serves as lead litigation counsel for FutureLogic, a leader in thermal printer design and technology. In bi-coastal patent litigation brought by FutureLogic’s principal competitor, Brett successfully defeated a motion for a preliminary injunction at the outset of the case and, after defeating a renewed request for a preliminary injunction a year later, the case settled on very favorable terms with FutureLogic obtaining a worldwide, perpetual license to the patents at issue and all related applications, patents and foreign counterparts. Brett also represents FutureLogic in pending litigation as a plaintiff, enforcing the client’s innovative “dual port” promotional printing patent against another competitor.
Professional Activities
Admitted to Practice, US District Court, Northern, Eastern, Central, and Southern Districts of California, and the District of Colorado; US Court of Appeals, Federal and Ninth Circuits; US Supreme Court
Member, American Bar Association; Federal Circuit Bar Association; Intellectual Property Section, State Bar of California; American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA); Orange County Bar Association; Association of Business Trial Lawyers (ABTL), Orange County Chapter
Board of Directors, Public Law Center of Orange County; University of California, Irvine— Center for the Study of Democracy
Lawyer Representative, Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference (2009-2012)
Author, "Maintaining the Standard of Proof on Invalidity," Law 360 (February 9, 2011); "IP in a downturn," IP Review (Summer 2009)(co-author); "Post-Seagate: Advice of Counsel in Patent Defense," Intellectual Property Litigation (Fall 2008)(co-author); "Struggle for Ownership," The Recorder (April 11, 2007)(discussing KSR International Co. v. Teleflex, Inc. case); "Remedying Injury to Goodwill and Reputation: Beacon Mutual and 'Public Confusion' Under the Lanham Act," Intellectual Property Litigation (American Bar Association, Winter 2005)
Honors, Named a “Super Lawyer” in surveys conducted by Law & Politics Media Inc. and published in Los Angeles magazine (2007-2013)
Speaker, "The Future of Medical Diagnostic and Treatment Patents," O’Melveny Corporate Counsel Seminar (September 2010); "Improving Patent Adjudication Through ADR and Court Reform: International Mediation and Arbitration of Patent Cases," Thomas Jefferson School of Law Patent Law Symposium (April 3, 2009); "Patents and The Real-World: How Recent Supreme Court Cases and Proposed Legislation Will Impact You and Your Business," O'Melveny & Myers LLP Special Patent Law Presentation (Sept. 18 and 20, 2007)
