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Sean P. DeBruine

Partner


Sean DeBruine is a partner in the firm’s Intellectual Property Litigation Group. He is a trial lawyer, having tried cases in U.S. district courts around the country and before the International Trade Commission and the U.S. Court of International Trade. His practice focuses on patent, trade secret and other complex litigation for technology clients, involving microprocessor, memory and communications semiconductor devices, computer systems and computer software, Internet infrastructure and business methods, among other areas. He has also handled a number of trademark, general commercial and contract disputes. In addition, Mr. DeBruine represents clients in appeals before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

Mr. DeBruine also serves on the firm’s risk management and hiring committees and as the hiring partner for the Silicon Valley office.

Representative Experience

  • Lead counsel representing Elan Microelectronics Corp. in its patent dispute with Apple, Inc., involving multi-touch touchscreens and touchpads. Served as lead trial counsel in the hearing before the U.S. International Trade Commission (Certain Electronic Devices with Multi-touch Enabled Touchpads and Touchscreens, ITC Inv. 337-TA-714) and in a pending U.S. District Court case (Elan Microelectronics Corp. v. Apple, Inc., Case No. C-09-01531 RS (N.D. Cal.).
  • Lead counsel to Elan in its infringement suit against Pixcir Microelectronics Co., Ltd. Case No. 10-cv-00014-GMN-PAL (D. Nev.)
  • Lead counsel to Formosa Epitaxy, Inc. in a patent case involving Light Emitting Diodes in the Eastern District of Texas. Bluestone Innovations Texas LLC v. Epistar, Inc. et al., Case No. 2:10-00171-DF (E. D. Tex.).
  • Lead counsel to Elantech Devices, Inc. in its patent lawsuit with Synaptics, Inc. The case settled favorably after summary judgment and preliminary injunction in Elantech’s favor.
  • Lead counsel to Ours Technology, Inc. and its customers RadioShack Corp., ACCO Brands Corp. and Targus, Inc. in a patent infringement suit brought by Data Drive-Thru, Inc. The lawsuit has been stayed pending inter-partes re-examination of the plaintiff’s patent, and all claims of the patent have been declared invalid by the PTO.
  • Trial counsel in the U.S. International Trade Commission defending Epistar, Inc. against patent infringement claims brought by Phillips Lumileds Lighting U.S. LLC. Received a final determination of noninfringement on two of three patents; finding of violation overturned by the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on appeal.
  • Trial counsel for maker of microcontrollers for CD/DVD players in Section 337 proceedings at the U.S. International Trade Commission, resulting in a final determination of non-infringement and invalidity of one of the asserted patents.
  • Represented maker of Ethernet network interface controllers (NICs) in Section 337 proceedings at the ITC. The complainant agreed to drop the proceedings before trial.
  • Represented Lenovo (United States) Inc. as plaintiff and defendant in cases in the U.S. District Court and International Trade Commission; all settled favorably.


Sean P. DeBruine

275 Middlefield Road
Suite 150
Menlo Park, CA 94025-4008
Phone: 650-838-2121
Fax: 650-838-2001

Education

  • University of California, Berkeley
    (J.D., 1993)
  • University of California, Berkeley
    (A.B., 1982)

Admitted to Practice

  • California