Charles Cantine (left) and Joe Diamante (Courtesy photos)

The competitive New York IP litigation market continues to be a key focus for two big Atlanta-based firms, King & Spalding and Troutman Sanders.

Troutman announced on Thursday that it had recruited two seasoned IP litigation partners, Joe Diamante and Chuck Cantine, from King & Spalding's New York office. Meanwhile, King & Spalding said the same day that it landed two other IP litigation partners, Steven Rizzi and Ramy Hanna, from Foley & Lardner, who focus on tech and pharma patent disputes.

Cantine and Diamante, who have practiced together for about a decade, have a broad-based IP litigation practice that Cantine said made Troutman attractive.

“Joe and I were raised in the IP boutique model of handling all aspects of IP law—prosecution, litigation and general counseling. We are not pharma, Hatch-Waxman-type guys,” said Cantine, referring to the Hatch-Waxman Act, which regulates generic drugs.

Among several big wins, they obtained a $60.7 million jury verdict for client PODS Enterprises in a two-week trademark infringement trial against U-Haul over the use of the word “pods” in U-Haul's advertising—one of the largest-ever U.S. trademark verdicts. The suit settled for $41.4 million in 2016.

Cantine said it was a coincidence that he and Diamante, both New Yorkers, were moving from one Atlanta-based Am Law 100 firm to another. The two had jumped to King & Spalding in 2017 from Stroock & Stroock & Lavan.

“We joined Troutman for its robust IP practice here in New York and across the country,” he said.

There has been a “fairly constant and growing demand” for patent and trade secret litigation nationally, driven in part by the emergence of litigation finance, Cantine said, where outside investors fund litigation on contingency.

“One of the things that drew us to Troutman was the firm's willingness to at least explore alternative fee arrangements for the types of clients that Joe and I represent,” he said.

“We have relationships with most of the leading litigation finance companies,” Cantine added. “It's certainly a growing and substantial part of the IP litigation practice.”

Among their active matters, the two are representing tech developer TVnGO in an infringement suit over its “smart television” patents against LG Electronics, Cantine said, and they expect additional long-time clients to join them at Troutman.

John West, Troutman's business litigation department chair, said Diamante and Cantine “each bring extensive experience with all forms of IP issues, and their considerable background working with technology companies will greatly benefit our clients.”

Diamante has led more than 30 trials involving disputes over intellectual property and unfair competition. Cantine began his career as a patent prosecutor then developed a patent litigation practice, where he has first chair trial experience.

At King & Spalding, the addition of Rizzi and Hanna follows its recruitment in July of two other IP litigators, Gerald Flattman, who became the leader of its life sciences patent litigation team, and Evan Diamond, both from Paul Hastings. Flattman and Diamond represent pharmaceutical and biotech companies, particularly in Hatch-Waxman disputes.

Rizzi said in a statement that King & Spalding's IP team “has established a strong reputation in the industry because they do not shy away from trying difficult cases.”

King & Spalding's litigation practice head, Andy Bayman, said in a statement that Rizzi and Hanna “have tried patent cases both in the technology and pharmaceutical industries, which are two of the largest target areas for growth of our patent litigation practice.”

The head of King & Spalding's IP team, Kenny Steinthal, said he's known Rizzi for more than 20 years and called him “an accomplished patent litigator who has shown a keen ability to navigate through complex legal, factual and technical matters to produce successful results for his clients.”

“Ramy has been a key part of Steve's team and has substantial trial experience, particularly trying cases in Delaware, where we have seen an uptick in patent case filings,” Steinthal added.