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Fish Can't Have Enough Federal Circuit Clerks

Fish & Richardson counts 28 former Federal Circuit clerks among its ranks. The 370-lawyer IP-centric firm is clearly in the market for more.

Fish announced earlier this week that it will pay a $115,000 bonus to clerks who've completed two years at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, or one year at CAFC plus another at a district court. Clerks who logged 18 months at the Federal Circuit will receive a $105,000 bonus, and those with one year will receive $100,000.

Fish partner Adam Shartzer is in charge of recruiting Federal Circuit clerks. He said they're uniquely equipped to hit the ground running in the IP space. “It's not something you can find elsewhere in the market,” said Shartzer, who clerked for now-Chief Judge Sharon Prost in 2010. “We want to continue to attract that kind of talent to the firm.”

Unlike other federal appellate courts, the CAFC's active judges all work under one roof in Washington, D.C. That creates a lot of collegiality among the clerks, and between clerks and judges, Shartzer said. “You get to know a lot of the other judges very well in your time there,” he said. That helps build “really good insight as to how to prepare cases” for the court, which hears all of the nation's patent appeals.

Clerks also leave the Federal Circuit with a built-in network of IP-savvy colleagues. “Ten years out, a lot of them will be managing litigation at the biggest companies in the world,” Shartzer said.

Above the Law noted this week that the Fish bonuses follow moves by Quinn Emanuel Urquhardt & Sullivan and Hueston Hennigan earlier this year to bump up bonuses for one-year federal clerkships to $105,000.

Shartzer said Fish was acting on its own motion. The firm has been discussing hiking CAFC bonuses for more than six months. Previously at $75,000 for a one-year clerkship, they had been long overdue for an increase, he said.

Fish is also offering $50,000 bonuses to federal district court clerks, and is recruiting with an eye on patent-heavy districts.

Pictured above are Fish & Richardson attorneys and former Federal Circuit clerks Adam Shartzer, Mike Ballanco, Lauren Degnan and Bethany Mihalik (front row), and Andy Schwentker, Pete Guarnieri, Ahmed Davisand Chris Dryer (back row).

Clash of Gaming Companies Ends in Split Decision

Live by the Section 101 sword, die by the Section 101 sword.

A few years ago, Finnish game maker Supercell Oy was in the vanguard of technology companies using Section 101 motions to bring a swift end to nuisance patent litigation.

The “Clash of Clans” maker is now bringing its own patent infringement suit against Japanese mobile game developer Gree, and U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers just ruled that one of Supercell's two asserted patents is an ineligible abstract idea.

U.S. Patent 9,106,449 claims a method, apparatus and system for improving the transfer of login information between a game client and an instant messaging client using “a function plugin.” Rogers ruled that the patent “fails to describe the structure of the function plug-in or how to apply the plug-in between a game client and messaging client to achieve the purported technological improvement.”

It's a partial win for a Paul Hastings team comprising of partner Yar Chaikovsky, of counsel Philip Ou, and associates David Okano and Alex Lee. They represent Gree and its subsidiary Funzio Games.

Fenwick & West preserved the 9,104,520 patent from a similar attack. Rogers ruled that the '520 is directed to an improvement in computer functionality: a more-efficient mechanism for upgrading applications with an installation patch. That rendered it patent eligible.

Fenwick partners Michael Sacksteder and Brian Kohm and associates Geoffrey Miller and Lauren Whittemore represent Supercell, which is owned by Chinese internet conglomerate Tencent.

Obligatory Berkheimer side note: The parties briefed the impact of the Federal Circuit's Berkheimer decision, but Rogers ruled on the pleadings without referring to the case.

Microsoft Commits to Sharing

“Every company today is becoming in part a software company.” With that truism in mind, Microsoft president and CLO Brad Smith announced the company's Shared Innovation Initiative Wednesday.

Microsoft's goal is to reassure its brick-and-mortar partners they'll own the IPthat results from collaborations, though Microsoft will expect a license. My ALM colleague Caroline Spiezio has the highlights here.

Bulking Up in Pittsburgh's Hot IP Market

Technology hubs are sprouting up all across the nation. So it shouldn't be surprising to see the same happening with the IP practice.

My ALM colleague Lizzy McClellan reports this week that Vorys Sater has doubled the size of its five-year-old Pittsburgh office by adding 10 lawyers from IP boutique Beck & Thomas. Both sides noted that IP is a hot practice in the Steel City.

From Wilson to Wachtell

Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz doesn't often reach outside the firm for lateral hires. But it just did so to bring in an IP and tech transactions lawyer from Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati.

Selwyn Goldberg joined Wachtell last month as of counsel. He tells my ALM colleague Scott Flaherty that he made a personal decision to relocate closer to family in New York.

I'm going to make a personal decision to conclude today's newsletter. Have a great weekend and see you all again on Tuesday.