Lex Lumina

Lex Lumina is an intellectual property litigation boutique with offices in New York and Los Angeles, California. Chambers USA ranks Lex Lumina in its Spotlight Guide as a leading boutique and mid-size firm, noted for its IP counsel to technology sector clients. The firm emphasizes its "scholar-litigators" and deep academic leadership in intellectual property, antitrust, and other fields, handling high-stakes matters from inception through trial and appeal.

The firm's patent litigation practice spans diverse technology areas, notably including CRISPR-Cas gene-editing technology, as demonstrated in the firm's representation in Agilent Technologies Inc. v. Synthego Corp.. Additionally, their expertise extends to design patents and broader intellectual property disputes, including those involving computer software and hardware, telecommunications, and biotechnology. Lex Lumina demonstrates a balanced approach to patent litigation, appearing equally on both the plaintiff (3 cases) and defendant (3 cases) sides across its tracked matters.

A significant outcome for Lex Lumina includes its representation of Synthego Corp. against Agilent Technologies Inc., concerning CRISPR RNA synthesis patents. The firm successfully challenged Agilent's US Patents Nos. 10,337,001 and 10,900,034 through Inter Partes Review (IPR) proceedings at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), which invalidated all claims. This outcome was affirmed by the Federal Circuit in June 2025 and ultimately solidified by the Supreme Court's denial of certiorari in March 2026, leading to the dismissal of the underlying district court action. The firm also secured a precedential victory for LKQ Corp. in LKQ Corp. v. GM Global Tech. Ops. LLC, where the en banc Federal Circuit revised the test for design patent obviousness, an achievement recognized with an "Impact Case of the Year" award by Managing IP.

Lex Lumina has an active PTAB practice, notably representing petitioners in IPR proceedings that resulted in the invalidation of all challenged patent claims, as seen in the Agilent v. Synthego dispute. Key partners leading the firm's patent litigation efforts include Mark A. Lemley, Of Counsel and a William H. Neukom Professor of Law at Stanford Law School, who played a lead role in the Agilent cases and successfully argued the LKQ appeal at the Federal Circuit. Founding and managing partner Rhett Millsaps, and founding member Christopher Sprigman, also contribute to the firm's litigation capabilities, alongside partner Mark McKenna, who advised on the LKQ matter.