Charles K. Verhoeven

Verhoeven has racked up a number of recent victories before the International Trade Commission.

In October 2011, he and fellow Quinn Emanuel partner William Price successfully represented what Verhoeven called "virtually the entire semiconductor industry" in an ITC action brought by Rambus Inc. involving five asserted patents.

On March 15, Administrative Law Judge Theodore R. Essex released his opinion supporting his determination on March 2 that certain patents asserted by Rambus were invalid and that certain others were unenforceable, noting that Rambus' case rested on "unreliable and false testimony in many important respects."

In other matters Verhoeven handled before the ITC, he successfully defended the Android operating system from attacks by Apple and Microsoft.

In a case brought by Microsoft against Motorola, he obtained a favorable ruling to eight of nine patents asserted by Microsoft.

And, in January 2011, Verhoeven successfully defended Cablevision in an ITC trial brought by Verizon involving five asserted patents.

Over the years, Verhoeven said that he has developed a technique for winning cases.

"One of the biggest problems that patent litigators have is they are too technical," he said. "They talk over the heads of decision makers - whether it's the jury, the administrative law judge or the district court judge."

Most U.S. judges, Verhoeven said, don't have technical backgrounds.

"I try to distill the essence of the arguments from the complex technology," he said.

With jurors, while they may lack technical know-how, he said, they make up for that in being able to assess someone's credibility.

"They use their credibility antenna when they watch politicians, when they're buying things," Verhoeven said. "They're pretty good at telling who is spinning and who is telling the truth. We try to convey that we're wearing the white hat."

- PAT BRODERICK

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