Archives: Team Members

Moses is a registered patent attorney and an associate attorney at Folio Law Group. Prior to switching over to litigation, Moses gained over six years of experience in patent prosecution as a patent agent. As a patent agent, Moses represented clients large and small, from early-stage startups to F100 technology giants. Moses has written and/or prosecuted over 200 patents to allowance in technology spaces such as mobile and web applications, virtual reality, head-mounted displays, machine learning, console, and mobile gaming software and hardware, video transmission, computer networking, database technology, drones, blockchain, and semiconductor fabrication.

Moses graduated cum laude and Order of the Coif from Santa Clara University School of Law. During law school, Moses externed for the Honorable Susan Illston of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, where he gained exposure to various stages of patent litigation. Prior to entering the field of law, Moses enjoyed a career as a molecular biology and biochemistry researcher during which he authored several research papers in Molecular Pharmacology and The Journal of Biological Chemistry.

ADMISSIONS

• U.S. District Court – Northern District of California

EDUCATION

• B.A. Biology – Cornell University
• J.D., cum laude – Santa Clara University School of Law.

Patent litigation. Stefan’s practice primarily focuses on plaintiff-side patent litigation. Stefan has represented innovators against infringers in Delaware, Texas, California, and the International Trade Commission, and has deep experience developing winning infringement theories, claim construction positions, and trial strategies.

Trade secrets litigation. Stefan has represented both plaintiffs and defendants in a wide range of trade secrets disputes in federal and state courts throughout the country, and has successfully obtained as well as opposed temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctions arising from alleged misappropriation of trade secrets.

Copyright and trademark litigation. Stefan has significant experience obtaining temporary restraining orders, as well as preliminary and permanent injunctions on behalf of brand owners and designers whose copyright and trade dress rights are being infringed by online retailers. Stefan recently obtained injunctions in the Central District of California against hundreds of such online sellers operating on DHGate.com and Alibaba.com. Stefan has also represented defendants in trademark cases involving allegations of indirect infringement and counterfeiting, and in oppositions before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.

Section 1983 litigation. In addition to his work in IP litigation, Stefan has represented plaintiffs in cases arising under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 from violations of his clients’ constitutional rights. In 2017, Stefan represented a plaintiff in an excessive force case under the 8th Amendment in the Northern District of California, and obtained a rare jury verdict awarding compensatory and punitive damages. In 2021, after defeating a motion for summary judgment asserting qualified immunity, Stefan negotiated a substantial settlement paid by the state of Washington to plaintiffs who had been exposed to unreasonable amounts of second-hand smoke while in detention, in violation of their 14th Amendment rights. Although far afield from his IP litigation practice, these results highlight Stefan’s commitment to taking on and prevailing in difficult litigations.

Stefan also routinely counsels clients on pre-litigation strategies and dispute resolution, and is a frequent writer, commentator, and presenter on developments in IP law. Stefan has also guest lectured on the topic of trade secrets litigation at the University of Washington School of Law.

Before joining Folio, Stefan was a partner at Dorsey & Whitney in Seattle. Stefan began his career at Morrison & Foerster in Palo Alto, and has also practiced at Fenwick & West.

 

ADMISSIONS

• Member of the Washington, California, and New York state bars
• Admitted to the Western District of Texas
• Admitted to the Eastern District of Texas
• Admitted to the Eastern District of Washington
• Admitted to the Western District of Washington
• Admitted to the Eastern District of New York
• Admitted to the Southern District of New York
• Admitted to the Northern District of California
• Admitted to the Central District of California
• Admitted to the Southern District of California
• Admitted to the District of Colorado
• Admitted to the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
• Admitted to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

 

EDUCATION

• BA – McGill University
• BCL-LL.B – McGill University

As a patent litigator, Sam has represented Fortune 100 companies in sophisticated intellectual property litigation matters in front of federal courts and the International Trade Commission (ITC). He leverages his previous experience as a software developer where he managed and implemented complex web-based projects, including the .com sites for major financial services and telecommunications companies.

Prior to joining Folio, Sam co-founded and developed De Novo IP, a platform for the automated mining and evaluation of patent portfolios.  He has over seven years of patent litigation experience from practicing with the Tensegrity Law Group LLP, Kirkland & Ellis LLP, and Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, LLP.  Before law school, Sam worked for six years as a technology consultant at Sapient Corporation (acquired by Publicis).

REPRESENTATIVE CASES

Counseled solo inventor in establishing a patent-holding company for monetizing a portfolio (discovered by De Novo IP mining tools) against a multinational conglomerate. Lined up key stakeholders and funding. Directed and implemented chief litigation strategies.

Assessed the portfolios of patent-holding and licensing companies for the monetization of intellectual properties. Collaborated with stakeholders to develop and implement all recommended litigation strategies, including by presenting infringement, validity, and damages analyses for potential patent acquisitions.  Assisted in securing multi-million dollar settlements for several clients.

Established one of the first USA victories in the ITC for a large multinational technology company against an infringing incumbent.  Specifically requested by head of IP department to return to second chair for the examination of key fact and technical witnesses.

EDUCATION

• J.D. – University of Michigan
• B.S. Computer Science – Duke University

ADMISSIONS

• Member of the California State Bar

Andre joined Folio in 2021, bringing almost a decade’s worth of combined IP prosecution and litigation experience, spanning practice areas from Hatch-Waxman to trademarks. At Folio, he uses his breadth of procedural knowledge and organizational skills to support the firm and help drive favorable case outcomes. He has previously worked on teams catering to clients from international organizations to local restauranteurs.

Prior to joining Folio, Andre held various roles at BakerHostetler,  Knobbe Martens, and Intellectual Ventures. In his spare time he enjoys mountaineering in the North Cascades, ice climbing around the country, and the symphony.

Palani has deep experience evaluating patent portfolios as a precursor to litigation. He is called to find the cornerstone patents in a portfolio that will lead to maximized returns and then generate a strategy to enforce the portfolio. He leverages his technical background to reverse engineer complex technologies giving his clients more certainty earlier in an enforcement campaign.

Palani has a BS in electrical engineering from the University of Florida and a JD from the Georgetown University Law Center. He was a patent examiner at the United States Patent and Trademark Office and an engineer with Lockheed Martin. He is a member of Tau Beta Pi Honors Society and a graduate of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme.

Before joining Folio, Palani co-founded and coded De Novo IP, a patent software startup that helped clients monetize patent portfolios. He practiced patent litigation for over 5 years at Tensegrity Law Group LLP and Alston & Bird LLP. Palani enjoys snowboarding.

Admissions:

Member of the California State Bar
Member of the United States Patent Bar
Admitted to the United States District Courts for the Northern District of California
Admitted to the United States District Courts for the Eastern District of Texas

Finding his niche at the intersection of science and the law, Cliff has represented clients in complex disputes covering a wide range of technologies including cellular and WiFi communications, VoIP telephony, semiconductor manufacturing and design, image sensors, and computer networking and security. He has handled patent cases through all phases of litigation including jury trials and appeals in numerous courts nationwide as well as in foreign jurisdictions. Cliff also has significant experience in counseling his clients on patent licensing and due diligence matters.

Cliff regularly advises business leaders and other non-legal professionals to meet their business goals with a well-rounded IP strategy. Between his previous work as an engineer and his more recent experience as in-house and outside counsel, Cliff brings a broad and unique perspective to his practice.

Prior to joining Folio Law Group, Cliff held various senior director roles in patent enforcement and litigation at technology companies. Before that, he spent much of his career as an attorney in private practice at both global and boutique law firms in the Silicon Valley. Cliff also enjoyed an engineering career for eight years at a leading semiconductor corporation where he was involved in research and development of chipsets for medical imaging and consumer video electronics.

REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS

Cliff served as counsel representing a small venture-funded computer security software company in a series of complex patent suits against its market competitors.

Cliff represented a large multi-national semiconductor company in various IP licensing and litigation disputes with its competitors and customers.

Cliff was a member of the trial team in a patent suit with a major smartphone manufacturer involving a patent licensing dispute relating to wireless cellular standards.

Cliff served as counsel representing a leading designer and manufacturer of high-precision camera systems in litigation against multiple defendants in the image sensor industry.

Cliff represented a developer and manufacturer of public safety communications equipment in patent litigation against its competitors involving VoIP telephony.

ADMISSIONS

• Member of the California State Bar
• Admitted to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
• Admitted to the United States District Court for the Northern District of California
• Admitted to the United States District Court for the Eastern and Western Districts of Texas

EDUCATION

• B.S. Electrical Engineering – University of California, Davis
• J.D. – Santa Clara University School of Law

Helping his clients monetize intellectual property and protect corporate assets, Cris litigates and advises on a broad range of intellectual property and commercial matters. He has managed over 100 cases, including patent, trademark, copyright and complex business litigation. Having worked as both outside and in-house counsel, Cris brings a unique, client-centric perspective to legal questions and business solutions. He has represented clients in numerous district courts nationwide and before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, the International Trade Commission and the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Fifth and Federal Circuits.

Cris has over twenty years of experience representing clients in high-stakes disputes. He effectively navigates all stages of litigation, from pre-trial investigation through trial and appeal, and efficiently works with clients to achieve the outcome that is most advantageous for their business. Cris has built his reputation on listening to and understanding his clients’ needs and working tirelessly to achieve them.

Prior to founding Folio Law Group, Cris was, among other things, a partner at the international law firms of Dorsey & Whitney LLP and K&L Gates LLP and a Director of Intellectual Property Litigation for Intellectual Ventures Management LLC. He has a B.S. degree cum laude from Washington State University and a J.D. degree from the Seattle University School of Law. Mr. Leffler is active in pro bono and other community volunteer work. He enjoys long walks with his dogs and watching his children grow.

Representative Cases:

Cris served as lead trial counsel defending an innovative startup in a bet the company patent litigation brought by the dominant incumbent. After three years of litigation and a three-week trial, Cris and his team secured a multi-million dollar jury verdict on counterclaims brought by their client.

Cris was lead counsel representing a large publicly traded corporation in defense of a copyright complaint alleging infringement of thousands of photographs. Following multiple rounds of briefing, the case was dismissed on summary judgment.

Cris represented an international startup in high stakes patent litigation filed against its chief rival in a nascent telecommunications market. Following summary judgement briefing, Cris negotiated a favorable settlement involving a payment to his client for past damages and ongoing royalties.

Cris represented a multinational publicly traded corporation in defense of several copyright allegations. Following several motions to dismiss filed on behalf of our client, the case was dismissed with prejudice by the plaintiff. Our client paid nothing.

Cris represented the owner of several families of patented technologies in international licensing efforts. Cris and his team successfully negotiated and executed numerous licenses and cross-licenses without the need for litigation.

Admissions:

• Member of the California State Bar
• Member of the Washington State Bar
• Admitted to the U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Central, Southern, and Eastern Districts of California
• Admitted to the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern and Western Districts of Washington
• Admitted to the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern and Western Districts of Texas
• Admitted to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
• Admitted to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
• Admitted to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

Helping his clients navigate difficult transactions and intellectual property issues, Mike litigates and advises on a broad range of topics including contracts, copyrights, trademarks, patents, product liability, compliance and marketing. He has represented large and small clients across a variety of software and life science technologies, including web and Internet technologies, ecommerce, database systems, digital health wearables, gene editing, stem cell therapies, protein engineering, molecular diagnostics, and small molecule therapeutics. Mike provides business-focused counsel informed by a history of entrepreneurship and in-house legal experience advising on product strategy, protecting intellectual property, managing litigation, and developing corporate policies. He is also a registered patent attorney with the United States Patent Office.

Prior to founding Folio Law Group, Mike was a litigation and licensing attorney at Fenwick & West, in-house counsel for Redfin, and a founder of two biotechnology companies. Mike also served as judicial clerk to Judges Maxine Chesney and Susan Illston of the Northern District of California. He has a B.S. degree in Biology from Bucknell University and a J.D. degree from Tulane University School of Law where he graduated magna cum laude and Order of the Coif.

Representative Cases:

Mike served as trial counsel representing an innovative life sciences company in complex patent litigation against its primary market competitor. After two years of litigation and a two-week trial, Mike and his team secured a $18M dollar jury verdict.

Mike was counsel representing a small venture-funded technology company in defense of a patent complaint brought by a large multinational corporation. Following an investigation into the history of the technology and disclosures showing the patents to be invalid, the large plaintiff dismissed its case and walked away, requiring our client to pay nothing.

Mike represented a small venture-funded corporation in patent litigation filed by a patent assertion entity. On the strength of non-infringement theories developed early in the case we won on summary judgment and successfully lobbied the court to require the patent plaintiff to pay our client’s legal fees.

Admissions:

• Licensed patent attorney with the United States Patent and Trademark Office
• Member of the California State Bar
• Member of the Washington State Bar
• Admitted to the United States District Courts for the Northern, Central, Southern, and Eastern Districts of California
• Admitted to the United States District Courts for the Eastern District of Texas
• Admitted to the United States District Courts for the Western District of Washington

David has spent years in the trenches working with technical people and experts to develop winning case strategies, fine-tuning patent language to optimize coverage, and dealing with challenges to patent validity at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.

David has eighteen years of experience in intellectual property litigation and counseling, and patent post-grant procedures and prosecution. He has represented high technology companies of all sizes from early-stage start-ups to Fortune 500 companies. David’s practice focused on all aspects of Intellectual Property litigation and counseling. David’s trial experience has produced jury verdicts in excess of 100 million dollars as well as numerous defense judgments. David has a track record for securing favorable dispositions of many of his cases well in advance of trial. David has also led over two-dozen of Inter Partes Reviews, numerous Inter Partes and Ex Parte Reexaminations, and practices before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board and the United States Patent Office.

Prior to joining Folio, David was a partner at Marton Ribera Schumann & Chang, a law firm he founded with three colleagues from Fenwick & West. Before founding Marton Ribera Schumann & Chang, David was a partner in the Patent Litigation Group at Fenwick & West. For the ten years prior to becoming a lawyer, David designed and developed wireless and networking products, mixed-signal semiconductor products, and inertial guidance and navigation equipment.

ADMISSIONS

• Member of the California bar
• Member of the United States Patent Office Bar
• Admitted to Central and Northern Districts of California
• Admitted to the Eastern District of Texas
• Admitted to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
• Admitted to the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Chris has over 30 years of experience determining damages related to the impact of business events in the contexts of intellectual property, breach of contract, fraud, bankruptcy, and securities manipulation across a wide range of industries. In that regard, Chris has provided expert witness services on hundreds of matters in his 30+ years as an economic professional.  In addition, Chris has significant “real world” experience as a former portfolio manager of the largest privately owned patent holder in the world.  In that regard, Chris managed portfolios with $100s millions in invested capital, created monetization programs across a wide range of industries, simultaneously lead new investments in patents and worked to sell portfolios with $100s millions in transaction value.  This real-world experience with a large patent owner coupled with decades of expert consulting experience allows Chris to bring real world economics and experience into his damages work and bring realistic valuation techniques backed by case law into his transaction and strategy assignments.

Areas of Expertise 

• Disputes:  Represent clients in high-stakes disputes.
• IP Business Consulting: Provide strategic and operational guidance on a range of IP business issues for entrepreneurs, investors, and corporations. 
• IP Advisory Services: Represent clients in IP asset sales, IP licensing, and IP financing transactions.   

Professional Experience

Disputes: 

Mr. Spadea has been sought to provide expert assistance in understanding the appropriate economic measure of damages in many contexts including:

• Patent infringement – lost profits, reasonable royalties, irreparable harm, commercial success.
• Misappropriation of trade secrets – lost profits and unjust enrichment.
• Copyright infringement – lost profits, statutory damages, royalties.
• IRS litigation – determination of comparable uncontrolled transaction (“CUT”) for purposes of IP valuation.
• Breach of Contract – lost profits, irreparable harm.
• Fraud – lost profits, economic causation, forensic analysis.
• Bankruptcy – economic causation, asset valuation.

In this regard, Mr. Spadea has performed analyses and given testimony related to the various components of lost profits and reasonable royalty (in IP matters) including, but not limited to: the competitive landscape, market share analysis, availability of substitutes, infringing sales and revenues, lost sales and revenues, incremental costs, capacity and regulatory impacts, customer behavior, ability to pay, and but-for market recreation, amongst others.  

Example industries include:

Aerospace Agriculture Alcohol Apparel Appliances Automotive Battery Beverage

Bicycle Bottling Call center Chemicals Computer memory Digital Imaging eProcurement Financial services

Gaming Internet software / services Lighting Medical devices Mobile devices WAN/LAN networking Paper manufacturing

Pharmaceutical / Biotech Prepress software Semiconductor Securities Storage Telecommunications Trucking

IP Business Consulting:

Mr. Spadea has advised a wide range of IP owners from Fortune 100 companies to small businesses and single inventors on strategies to develop, maintain and monetize their existing and future IP. Mr. Spadea was also a member of senior management at the largest privately held patent owner in the world and created strategic plans and initiatives to build, manage and monetize over 40,000 patents across dozens of industries.  

In this regard, Mr. Spadea has advised and led teams focused on many industries including, but not limited to:

Aerospace Agriculture Automotive Banking Computer memory Computer networking Consumer electronics Construction

Database / Analytics eCommerce GPUs Healthcare Health insurance P&C insurance Lighting Logistics

Medical devices Mobile devices Online travel Pharmaceutical / Biotech Professional sports Retail RFID

Security Servers Storage Telecommunications Trading Video compression White goods

IP Advisory Services:

Mr. Spadea has significant experience both advising companies and as a senior level company employee in the negotiation of IP transactions. In this regard, Mr. Spadea has been “at the table” with the counterparty’s decision makers on hundreds of IP transactions. These transactions have crossed several dozen industries and included sale, licensing, acquisition, M&A and fund-raising activities. 

Example industries include:

Aerospace Agriculture Automotive Banking Comp. Mem

Comp. networking Consumer electronics Database / Analytics eCommerce / Enterprise software GPUs

Insurance Lighting Med. Devices Mobile Devices Online Travel

Security Servers Storage Pharmaceuticals / Biotech Telecommunications

Work History:

Managing Director – Folio Expert Services Senior Managing Director – Ankura Consulting Group, LLC Managing Director – Navigant Consulting, Inc. Senior Director – Intellectual Ventures CEO – Extract Value, LLC Vice President, Charles River Associates, Inc.  Vice President, InteCap, Inc.  Executive Consultant, Peterson Worldwide   International Trade Services Analyst, JP Morgan

2019 – Present 2018 – 2019 2017 – 2018  2011 – 2017 2011 – 2017 2004 – 2011    1998 – 2004    1994 – 1998    1993 – 1994

Presentations and Publications

• “Strategic Licensing Scenarios”, Panel Discussion, The Business Of Responsible Deal Making – IAM Conference, September 2018
• “How to Effectively Use Expert Witness Testimony to Prove Damages in IP Litigation,” Presentation, Knowledge Group, September 2018
• “SEPs Are They Still Fit for Purpose”, Panel Discussion, IAM Licensing Conference, September 2017
• Kristopher A. Boushie, Christopher H. Spadea, and Martin F. Cunniff, eds.,“Calculating  and Proving Damages.” New York: Law Journal Press, 2011-2016. www.lawjournalpress.com.

Testimony

2024 – Virtru Corporation v. Microsoft Corporation (U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington at Seattle)

• Damages arising from alleged patent infringement in the messaging encryption software market.

2024 – Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Mylan Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Biocon Biologics, Inc. (United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia Clarksburg Division)

• Irreparable harm from alleged patent infringement in the Anti-VEGF drug market.

2022 – BGC Partners, Inc., et al v. Avison Young (Canada) Inc., et al (United States District Court for the District of Nevada)

• Damages arising from alleged breach of employment agreement, theft of trade secrets, tortious intereference and conspiracy.

2022 – Roller Bearing Company of America, Inc. v. Raytheon Company (U.S. District Court, District of Massachusettes)

• Damages arising from alleged theft of trade secrets, breach of contract and other torts.

2022 – Roller Bearing Company of America, Inc. v. Multicut North America, Inc. and Multicut Denmark A/S (U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut)

• Damages arising from alleged theft of trade secrets, breach of contract and other torts.

2020 – Medtronic, Inc. and Consolidated Subsidiaries v. Commisioner of Internal Revenue

• Determination of a comparable uncontrolled transacation used in seting transfer price in Federal Tax Court

2015 – Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., LTD. v. Apotex Corp et al (U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey) 

• Analysis as to irreparable harm regarding Otsuka’s request for a Temporary Restraining Order.

EDUCATION

BSBA, Finance, University of Delaware

CERTIFICATIONS

Certified Licensing Professional

AFFILIATIONS

Intellectual Property Owners
Licensing Executives Society
Intellectual Assert Management
National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts