Ashok Ramani

Hired by a client that had suffered a devastating defeat in a patent infringement battle with a competitor, Ramani turned that loss into a major triumph last year.

In the case, he was hired by TEK Global SRL after the company’s patent on tire repair technology was invalidated on summary judgment in a first trial with previous counsel. TEK also lost a jury verdict on a counterclaim by Sealant Systems International Inc., resulting in a permanent injunction against its U.S. sales.

But Ramani revived TEK’s patent on appeal, got the injunction vacated, and invalidated the Sealant Systems’ counterclaim patent.

In August, after winning a $2.8 million jury verdict in the Northern District of California earlier in the year, Ramani persuaded U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria of San Francisco to grant a permanent injunction against Sealant Systems. TEK Global SRL v. Sealant Systems International Inc., 11-CV00774 (N.D. Cal., filed Feb. 18, 2011).

His other clients include familiar names such as Hulu LLC, Netflix Inc. and Facebook Inc.

Ramani made a big career move in February, leaving his 15-year home at Keker, Van Nest & Peters LLP to join Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP.

While many legal experts say that patent litigation is declining, Ramani said that his work is just as critical as ever.

“The demise of patent litigation is overstated,” he said. He remarked that while lower quality patent cases are going away, high-level cases remain “very active and vital.”

Ramani said that his work presents the opportunity to continually learn about diverse new technologies and advances across a variety of industries.

He has clients in hardware, networking technology, software, medical devices and life sciences.

— Caroline Hart