Mark A. Lemley

Although Lemley spends much of his time teaching intellectual property law at Stanford Law School rather than practicing it, that hasn’t stopped him from stringing together seven consecutive victories at the appellate court level.

The most recent of those wins came when Lemley defended computing and electronics manufacturer Newegg Inc. against AdjustaCam LLC, in a patent infringement case that secured a federal circuit opinion awarding attorney fees to Newegg. AdjustaCam LLC v. Newegg Inc. et al., 13-1665 (Fed. Cir. July 5, 2017).

“Newegg has been aggressive in seeking its attorney’s fees against patent trolls who file scattershot, low-value plaintiffs’ cases and then drop them rather than actually face summary judgment or trial,” Lemley said.

The Eastern District of Texas originally denied the attorney fees, but on appeal the circuit court sent the case back to the district court level where it refused to rule, saying it had already decided the issues. This prompted the circuit court to issue an opinion in the case.

“It’s a significant opinion because it is I think the first time a federal circuit has said that a fee award is mandatory,” Lemley said.

He added that while the opinion does not invalidate the so-called troll business model, it was a positive development for companies facing that kind of litigation.

“I think there’s a growing recognition at the federal circuit that this kind of business model is a real thing and is a problem.”

Outside of litigation, Lemley is the director of Stanford Law School’s law, science and technology program, a role he said enriches his law practice and vice versa.

“I think I’m a better teacher and writer because I am involved in the real world and have a better sense of what’s going on in the trenches than some of my academic colleagues,” Lemley said. “Having the bigger picture and looking across broader trends makes me a better lawyer, makes me understand more of what’s going…rather than just fighting about the details of that particular case.”

Of his string of victories in court, Lemley sounded a cautious, if laughing, note, “Past performance is no guarantee of future results.”

— Chase DiFeliciantonio