Manatt, Phelps & Phillips

Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP is a multidisciplinary law firm founded in 1965 and headquartered in Los Angeles. With more than 450 professionals across offices in key U.S. markets like California, New York, Chicago, and Washington, D.C., Manatt is a large, national firm that consistently ranks in the AmLaw 200. While the firm is known for a broad range of practices, including healthcare, entertainment, and financial services, it maintains a dedicated intellectual property group that handles complex patent litigation.

The firm’s patent litigation practice has experience in the consumer electronics and mechanical device sector, as evidenced by its representation of Ironburg Inventions in matters concerning video game controller technology. According to the firm, its technical expertise also extends to software, artificial intelligence, semiconductors, telecommunications, and medical devices. The provided case data lists the firm solely in a defense-side role. However, public records regarding the firm's most prominent tracked case, Valve v. Ironburg, indicate that Manatt successfully represented the patent owner, Ironburg, as the plaintiff.

Manatt’s most notable recent patent litigation result is its representation of patent holder Ironburg Inventions Ltd. against Valve Corporation. In that matter, a federal jury found Valve willfully infringed Ironburg's patent, awarding over $4 million in damages. The verdict and infringement finding were subsequently affirmed in a 2023 appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The litigation also involved extensive proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), with related IPR decisions being appealed to the Federal Circuit, demonstrating the firm's experience in navigating the interplay between district court litigation and PTAB invalidity challenges.

The firm's technology and IP litigation practice is led by partner Amar L. Thakur, an experienced trial lawyer who has handled patent disputes across numerous U.S. district courts and the International Trade Commission. The lead attorneys in the Ironburg cases, Robert D. Becker and Ehab M. Samuel, are no longer with the firm.