Adam R. Alper

Alper leads Kirkland & Ellis LLP’s intellectual property group in the Bay Area, but his reach extends well beyond California. Clients include Intel Corp., Cisco Systems Inc., Energy Labs Inc., Motorola Solutions Inc., Zebra Technologies Corp., Eagle View Technologies Inc. and LivePerson Inc.

He’s an expert in handling hard-fought battles between business competitors with important technologies at stake. Many of the IP disputes involve litigation also pending in Europe and Asia.

“I’m pretty busy in a good way,” he said. “There’s a lot of travel for these multi-venue cases.”

For client Motorola, a leading maker of two-way radio products widely used by police and other public service agencies and commercial customers, Alper is overseeing a series of global claims against China-based competitor Hytera Communications Corporation Ltd. Alper’s client alleges that a number of former employees joined Hytera and brought with them thousands of confidential Motorola documents and is infringing multiple Motorola patents.

The dispute involves numerous lawsuits, including infringement suits before the U.S. International Trade Commission, in U.S. district court and in courts in Germany and Australia. There’s also a trade secret misappropriation action in Illinois district court alleging theft of thousands of trade secrets in the so-called land-mobile-radio sector. An ITC trial concluded in January.

“The misappropriation began in 2008,” Alper said. “We expect the [ITC} administrative law judge to give us an initial decision this summer.” In December, Hytera counterattacked with a federal suit claiming that Motorola is using its dominant market position to sway dealers to sell only Motorola products.

The Illinois case is in discovery, with a trial date likely within a year. Motorola Solutions Inc. v. Hytera Communications Corp. Ltd., 17-CV01972 (N.D. Ill., filed March 14, 2017).

In a second competitor case, Alper represents Seattle area-based EagleView as it sues Xactware Solutions Inc. for infringing its patents on aerial roof measurement technology. EagleView’s products provide roof and wall damage reports following storms for speedy insurance coverage purposes, replacing the need for building contractors to make individual assessments.

Kirkland & Ellis’ team, led by Alper, obtained favorable results at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, where 93 percent of its claims survived the inter partes review process — in contrast to the typical 10 to 20 percent success rate at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.

Co-pending district court litigation in New Jersey is set for trial later this year. There, Alper’s team defeated each of the claim constructions proposed by Xactware. Eagle View Technologies Inc. v. Xactware Solutions Inc., 15-CV07025 (D. N.J., filed Sept. 23, 2015).

— John Roemer