Russ, August & Kabat attorneys Benjamin T. Wang, Jacob R. Buczko and Christian Conkle won a jury verdict of patent infringement for client, Nanology Alpha LLC. The asserted patent, U.S. Patent No. 5,756,997, is directed to a scanning probe/optical microscope used in atomic force microscopy to study materials at the nanoscopic scale, and was invented by Victor B. Kley, a pioneer in the field of microscopy who holds over 100 patents. Defendant WITec is a leading German manufacturer of scanning probe microscopes.
In pretrial rulings, the District Court rejected each of WITec’s invalidity defenses, narrowing the eventual trial solely to the issues of infringement and damages. After a four day trial, the eight member jury returned a verdict of infringement in favor of Nanology, and awarded damages equivalent to a 5% royalty for WITec’s infringement.
Testament to the professionalism of the Russ, August & Kabat attorneys at trial, the District Judge concluded the trial with the following:
“I’ve tried nearly 30 cases in the last three-and-a-half years. This case falls into that category of a very few cases where the parties have just done an outstanding job of working together during the course of the trial. It has been a privilege to work with you all and to watch you all work together. At every turn throughout the course of this case, you have treated each other with professionalism and with courtesy. There were significant, real disputes during the course of the trial that we worked through. We got the case presented to the jury, and we have a verdict now. But really at every turn, you dealt with each other in good faith, and you did your best to resolve disputes when you could; and when you couldn’t, you made your best presentation and you were courteous at all times to each other in the courtroom. So, all of that is to say that made my job a little bit easier; and it makes, I think, us — or it should make us prouder of the profession that we all practice when you can have a dispute as significant as this one has been for these parties and we can put the case on well and get along as nicely as we have this week. So, congratulations to you all.”
Russ August & Kabat Partner, Jean Y. Rhee, who has been recognized as a 2018 Southern California Top 100 Rising Stars and named to the Top 50 Southern California Rising Stars Women’s Edition, was interviewed in the 2018 Super Lawyers Rising Stars magazine.
Rising Stars are the top 2.5% percent of attorneys in each state, under 40 years old and/or who have been practicing for 10 years or less, as chosen by their peers and through an independent research. The Rising Stars process is designed to identify lawyers who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. Rising Stars is a comprehensive and diverse listing of outstanding attorneys, representing a wide range of practice areas, firm sizes and geographic locations. Read More
RUSS AUGUST & KABAT ATTORNEYS RECOGNIZED AS 2018 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA RISING STARS, INCLUDING NATHAN D. MEYER, REZA MIRZAIE AND JEAN Y. RHEE, WHO ARE NAMED TOP 100 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA RISING STARS; JEAN Y. RHEE AND SHANI M. WILLIAMS ARE NAMED TOP 50 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA WOMEN RISING STARS WOMEN’S EDITION JUNE 2018
Russ August & Kabat is proud of Arka D. Chatterjee, Nathan D. Meyer, Reza Mirzaie, Jean Y. Rhee, Diana A. Sanders, Philip X. Wang, Shani M. Williams and Ashley R. Yeargan, who have been recognized as 2018 Southern California Rising Stars by the publishers of Los Angeles Magazine. In addition, Nathan D. Meyer, Reza Mirzaie and Jean Y. Rhee were recognized as a Southern California Top 100 Rising Stars and Jean Y. Rhee was named to the Top 50 Southern California Rising Stars Women’s Edition.
Rising Stars are the top 2.5% percent of attorneys in each state, under 40 years old and/or who have been practicing for 10 years or less, as chosen by their peers and through an independent research. The Rising Stars process is designed to identify lawyers who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. Rising Stars is a comprehensive and diverse listing of outstanding attorneys, representing a wide range of practice areas, firm sizes and geographic locations.
Arka D. Chatterjee’s practice focuses on patent litigation in a wide range of technologies. He has litigated disputes involving DNA sequencing, bioinformatics, geophysics, seismology, semiconductors, network engineering, and software. Complementing his patent litigation expertise, Mr. Chatterjee has also handled copyright and trademark matters for clients in the entertainment and garment industries, and antitrust matters for clients in the LCD fabrication industry. Mr. Chatterjee earned his law degree from Columbia Law School, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone scholar. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of California, San Diego, where he was a member of the Golden Key Honor Society. Before attending law school, he worked as a researcher in the life sciences, exploring the etiology of and treatments for various inflammatory diseases and cancer.
Nathan D. Meyer’s practice focuses on general litigation and intellectual property matters, with an emphasis on general business litigation and soft IP. His experience includes copyright, apparel, contract and real estate litigation. Mr. Meyer is a graduate of Harvard Law School and Harvard College.
Reza Mirzaie’s practice focuses on various areas of intellectual property litigation, including patent, trademark, and trade secret litigation. He has litigated patent and trade secret disputes involving a variety of technologies, including computer software, hardware, digital signal processing, and elevator dispatch systems. Mr. Mirzaie is a registered patent attorney licensed to practice before the United States Patent & Trademark Office. Complementing his litigation expertise, he has worked on numerous prosecution and post-grant matters before the USPTO. Mr. Mirzaie earned his law degree from the University of Illinois College of Law, where he was the Associate Editor of the Law Review.
Jean Y. Rhee’s practice focuses on intellectual property, business litigation, and counseling on matters of corporate governance, employment, and white collar crime. Ms. Rhee has represented numerous Fortune 100 and 500 clients, including Shell Oil, Hewlett Packard, Merrill Lynch, and Fidelity. Ms. Rhee received her law degree, magna cum laude, from the University of Michigan law school, where she was an Articles Editor for the Michigan Law Review, Order of the Coif, and a member of the Campbell Moot Court Board.
Diana A. Sanders’ practice focuses her practice on matters involving copyright, trademark, breach of contract, and defamation. She has experience representing clients in New York and California federal and state courts, as well as arbitration tribunals, including the American Arbitration Association and JAMS. Ms. Sanders earned her law degree from Fordham University School of Law, where she graduated cum laude. While in law school, Diana served as the External Affairs Editor of the Fordham Intellectual Property, Media & Entertainment Law Journal and as the President of the Fordham Media & Entertainment Law Society.
Philip X. Wang specializes in patent litigation and PTAB proceedings, with a focus on high-technology. His practice centers on large, complex patent litigations. He has represented clients in the semiconductor, computer software, and pharmaceutical industries. He has trial experience before district courts, the International Trade Commission, and the Patent Office. Mr. Wang earned his law degree from Columbia Law School, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone scholar. He is a registered as a patent attorney before the United States Patent & Trademark Office.
Shani M. Williams’ practice focuses on patent litigation. Ms. Williams earned her law degree from Pepperdine University School of Law, where she graduated summa cum laude and is a member of the honor society Order of the Coif. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Industrial and Systems Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, where she was a President’s Scholar and graduated with highest honors.
Ashley R. Yeargan’s practice focuses on matters involving defamation, rights of privacy and publicity, copyright and trademark infringement, and breach of contract. She has represented a variety of clients in the media and entertainment industry, including actors, directors, writers, producers, musical artists, managers, small studios, production companies, and video game companies. Ms. Yeargan earned her law degree from Stanford University Law School with distinction. While a law student at Stanford Law School, Ashley was a First Place Recipient of Stanford Law School’s Intellectual Property Writing Award and also collaborated with former US Secretary of State Warren Christopher on a report for the National War Powers Commission concerning the respective powers of the US President and Congress to make and declare war.
Russ August & Kabat is proud of 
Russ August & Kabat congratulates partner,