Ian Washburn’s practice focuses on intellectual property and complex business litigation, including patent and trademark pre-grant and post-grant proceedings, as well as appellate work. He has represented clients in numerous federal courts as well as before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the ICC International Court of Arbitration and the Delaware Court of Chancery. In addition, he assists companies in developing and managing intellectual property portfolios and advises them during patent license negotiations.

Ian’s experience spans a wide range of industries, including the biomedical, pharmaceutical, semiconductor and semiconductor packaging and computer networking sectors as well as higher education. He has also taught classes regarding patent law and patent licensing at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law and University of California, Irvine School of Law. He serves as vice chair of the Patent Law Committee of the Intellectual Property Owners Association, and previously served as vice chair of the Licensing Committee.

Prior to law school, Ian worked for an investment management firm in New York and lived in Beijing.

Experience

  • VLSI Technology LLC v. Intel Corporation (W.D. Tex.). Secured a $948 million jury award plus running royalties for VLSI Technology in a suit against Intel involving a microprocessor technology patent. The Austin, Texas jury found that Intel infringed the asserted claims in the patent and that Intel had not shown the patent was invalid. 
  • VLSI Technology LLC v. Intel Corporation (N.D. Cal, D. Del., W.D. Tex., PTAB). Served as counsel to VLSI Technology in patent litigation and related inter partes review involving patents related to power delivery architecture and other processor technologies. Obtained a $2.3 billion final judgment for VLSI following a trial in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas.
  • Shareholder Representative Services v. Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Del. Ch.). Served as counsel to Gilead Sciences in contract litigation related to whether Gilead owed a bonus payment under a merger agreement related to Gilead's cancer-fighting PI3K inhibitor Zydelig. Following a trial, the Delaware Court of Chancery issued a complete defense verdict, rejecting the plaintiff's claim for over $50 million in damages.
  • MyMail, Inc. v. Conduit Ltd., Perion Network Ltd., et al. (E.D. Tex., PTAB). Served as counsel to Conduit Ltd., Perion Network Ltd., et al., in patent litigation and related inter partes review involving patents related to browser toolbar technology. The case settled shortly before oral hearing in the inter partes review.
  • Genentech, Inc. v. The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania (N.D. Cal.). Served as counsel to the trustees in patent litigation involving patent related to monocolonal antibody therapies. Penn asserted that the primary use of Genentech's blockbuster anticancer drug Herceptin infringes Penn's patent. The case settled shortly before trial.
  • Tessera v. Amkor Technology (I.C.C., N.D. Cal., D. Del., Cal. Sup. Ct.). Served as counsel to Tessera in a series of arbitrations before a three-judge panel from the International Chamber of Commerce, and various satellite cases, involving royalties due under an agreement licensing both patented and unpatented semiconductor packaging technology.
  • Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Genentech, Inc. (PTAB). Served as counsel to Genentech in inter partes review involving patents related to methods of using rituximab, one of the highest-selling biologic treatments for cancer and rheumatoid arthritis. BI filed a request for adverse judgment for abandonment of the contest in the two proceedings that were instituted, asking the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) to enter an adverse judgment against BI. The requests were not filed pursuant to any settlement between the parties and were granted by the PTAB.
  • Tessera v. Powertech Technology Inc. (N.D. Cal.). Served as counsel to Tessera in licensing disputes involving royalties due under an agreement licensing both patented and unpatented semiconductor packaging technology.
  • Tessera v. Sony (N.D. Cal.). Served as counsel to Tessera in licensing dispute involving royalties due under an agreement licensing both patented and unpatented semiconductor packaging technology.

Honors & Awards

  • Named to the Southern California Super Lawyers list (2024)
  • Selected to Los Angeles Business Journal’s “Thriving in their 40s” list (2023)
  • Named to the Southern California Rising Stars list (2019-2020)

Publications

  • "From Camera Obscura To Camera Futura: How Patents Shaped Two Centuries of Photographic Innovation and Competition," 98 J. Pat. & Trademark Off. Soc'y 406 (2016)

Speaking Engagements

Professional Activities

  • Vice chair, Patent Law Committee of the Intellectual Property Owners Association

Education

University of California, Berkeley School of Law (J.D., 2010); Order of the Coif

Yale College (B.A., with distinction, Chinese Language and Literature, 2002)

Admissions

  • California, 2010
  • U.S. District Court for the Central and Northern Districts of California
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
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