James S. Blank

Jim has acted as lead counsel in numerous patent litigations at every significant level. He has argued before the Federal Circuit, tried cases to juries and judges in district courts, litigated inter partes reviews (IPR) to conclusion before the PTAB, and conducted arbitrations and mediations. His experience covers litigating patent cases involving semi conductor materials, video game systems and controllers, stereoscopic (3D) image capture and display devices, streaming media, augmented reality, high-speed data communications cables, liquid crystal displays, digital downloading jukeboxes, power tools, optical components, and encryption technology, among many other technologies. While his practice largely focuses on patent litigation, he also has experience litigating trade secrets, trademark, trade dress, false advertising and copyright cases.

Jim's intellectual property litigation experience includes:

• Acting as lead counsel for Soitec in breach of patent cross-license and supply agreement case against a competitor involving silicon wafers.
• Acting as lead counsel for TouchTunes Music Corporation in patent infringement case alleging that TouchTunes' digital downloading jukeboxes infringe four patents.
• Acting as lead counsel for The Sanborn Library and Environmental Data Resources in copyright infringement, DMCA, antitrust and Lanham Act case involving maps used in Phase 1 environmental site assessments.
• Acting as lead counsel for Enterprise Rent-A-Car in patent infringement cases involving image processing, vehicle navigation, and customer service platform technologies.
• Acted as lead counsel for Jonathan Y Designs in two design patent, trade dress and copyright infringement cases involving trash cans and packaging.

Prior to joining the Firm, Jim's intellectual property litigation experience includes:

• Acted as lead counsel for Nintendo in two cases involving 3D image capture and display technology patent allegedly infringed by the Nintendo 3DS and 3DS XL handheld gaming devices. Following the Federal Circuit's reversal in Nintendo's favor of the district court's claim construction, the Court entered judgment of non-infringement after a bench trial. The Federal Circuit affirmed, and the Supreme Court denied certiorari.
• Acted as trial counsel for Nintendo in case alleging that Nintendo's Wii and GameCube video game controllers infringed five patents. Following a favorable claim construction ruling, the plaintiff stipulated to non-infringement of one of the patents-in-suit. Following trial, the jury returned a verdict of no infringement with respect to the Wii Remote and Wii Nunchuk controllers. The Federal Circuit found the remaining patent-in-suit invalid and reversed the district court's judgment of infringement and the USD 28 million damages award with respect to the Wii Classic and GameCube controllers.
• Acted as lead counsel for Nexans and Berk-Tek in case in which a competitor asserted four patents in the field of high speed telecommunications cables. Following successful IPRs invalidating 79 of the 81 asserted claims, the Federal Circuit affirmed the PTAB's invalidity findings, and reversed the PTAB's validity findings as to the remaining two claims. The Federal Circuit's reversal of the PTAB's validity findings represented the first time that it had reversed a PTAB validity finding in an AIA review.
• Acted as lead counsel for Nexans and Berk-Tek in case in which their Category 5e6 and 10G high speed data communications cables were alleged to infringe a competitor's patents. Following the Court's claim construction ruling, the case settled with Nexans and Berk-Tek making no monetary payment to General Cable.
• Acted as lead counsel for QinetiQ Group plc in case involving super-twisted nematic (STN) liquid crystal display technology. After obtaining a favorable claim construction ruling, the defendants conceded liability. After a trial on damages, the Court entered a non-appealable USD 20 million judgment in QinetiQ's favor.
• Acted as lead counsel for Robert Bosch Tool Corp. in trade secrets and correction of patent inventorship case involving digital inclinometers and thermoforming packaging processes. During trial, the case settled on favorable terms.
• Acted as lead counsel for TouchTunes Music Corp. and obtained summary judgment of non-infringement of seven patents relating to digital downloading jukebox technology. The Court subsequently found the case to be "exceptional" and awarded TouchTunes USD 2.7 million in attorneys' fees.
• Acted as lead counsel for KKR portfolio company and obtained preliminary injunction on trademark, trade dress, and false advertising claims involving porcelain tableware.

• Ranked in Patent Litigation, IAM 1000 -The World's Leading Patent Professionals, 2017-2024 (Band Silver) 
• Ranked in Appellate: Court of Appeals, Legal 500 US, 2018
• Ranked as Intellectual Property MVP, Law360, 2016

Jim and his team obtained the release from Texas death row and exoneration of Ernest Willis in state and federal habeas corpus proceedings. At the time, he was only the seventh prisoner released from Texas death row since the death penalty was reinstituted in 1976. Jim's service as lead counsel for more than a decade on this matter has been featured in numerous publications and broadcast reports, including ABC News' Nightline, The American Lawyer, and The New Yorker. For this representation, the Association of the Bar of the City of New York awarded him the Thurgood Marshall Award.