Juanita R. Brooks

Brooks led the team of Fish & Richardson attorneys who nullified a $200 million verdict against client Gilead Sciences Inc.

In a June bench trial, she and her team convinced U.S. District Judge Beth Labson Freeman of San Jose to render unenforceable patents asserted by Merck & Co. Inc. related to the multibillion dollar drugs Harvoni and Solvadi known to cure hepatitis C.

Freeman's ruling came after a jury awarded Merck $200 million in March. Brooks, who was lead counsel in the original trial, argued in the subsequent trial that Merck's counsel deliberately made up testimony and acted in bad faith.

Freeman agreed, finding Merck "guilty of unclean hands" and held that the company had "forfeited its right to prosecute this action against Gilead." Gilead Sciences Inc. v. Merck & Co. Inc., 13-cv-04057 (N.D. Cal., March 24, 2016).

"We were all thrilled when the [judge] handed down her order finding Merck's patents unenforceable against Gilead due to Merck's business and litigation misconduct," Brooks said. "In the 65-page opinion, the judge went very carefully through all of the evidence and the law and meticulously detailed Merck's misconduct. As a result, we also feel very good about the record on appeal."

Brooks represented Gilead in another patent infringement case against Abbott Laboratories and AbbVie Inc. also over the hepatitis C drugs. Last month, according to court documents, Gilead and Abbott with AbbVie filed a joint dismissal. Gilead Sciences Inc. v. Abbvie Inc., 13-CV2034 (D. Del., August 24, 2016).

Brooks defended Microsoft Corp.'s popular Xbox gaming products when IpLearn-Focus LLC sued for infringing on three patents involving detached sensors that deal with users' interactions. She worked on the case with Jonathan J. Lamberson, who argued the infringement claim was too abstract. In July 2015, U.S. District Judge James Donato of San Francisco delivered a ruling to invalidate the patents. IpLearn-Focus LLC v. Microsoft Corp., 14-CV00151 (N.D. Cal. 2015).

With the past year's major cases, Brooks collaborated with younger attorneys such as Lamberson on the Microsoft case, where the plaintiff is petitioning to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit for an en banc rehearing, and associate Joseph B. Warden in Fish's Delaware office, who worked on the Gilead and Merck case.

"One of the problems with being involved in cases where the stakes are always high, it is rare for younger lawyers to get a chance to handle significant motions, witnesses or arguments," Brooks said. "However, I'm fortunate to work with so many talented young lawyers and at the same time work with courageous in-house counsel who are willing to trust me when I tell them that a particular lawyer will not only be up to the task, but is the best fit for that task."

— Kibkabe Araya