Robert A. Van Nest

For Van Nest, a little creativity can help make the strongest argument possible for high-profile clients like Alphabet Inc.-owned Google and Qualcomm Inc.

“Complexity always makes for a more interesting case, and complexity in many ways requires more preparation and more thought and more creativity in making the issues as simple as you can for the fact finder,” Van Nest said.

“So the complexity part, I think, requires greater creativity on the part of the lawyers to make sure it’s understood,” he added.

Van Nest said every good IP litigator uses “good analogies and great graphics” to illustrate concepts in their cases. Analogies and graphics are being used, Van Nest said, to explain complicated technological ideas in an ongoing case in which he is defending Google against alleged copyright infringement of Java application programming interface packages, or APIs.

Oracle Corp. claimed that Google’s use of Java warranted damages, but Van Nest was successful in persuading two different federal juries to see otherwise. Both of those trial wins have been overturned on appeal.

Google has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the latest setback in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. A decision was pending as of press time.

Sometimes the creativity needed for a case means crafting a defense on short notice.

When defending Qualcomm against the Federal Trade Commission in January, Van Nest had just a 10-day trial to prove the FTC did not meet the burden of proof to show Qualcomm violated fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory rates when licensing its patents.

U.S. District Judge Lucy H. Koh of San Jose is scheduled to rule in that case at any time. She has not made a decision as of press time.

“It was challenging because the issues were novel, the evidence was voluminous and the trial time was limited,” Van Nest said. “I’m very proud of the trial presentation that we made. We were able to focus the case and present our evidence in a clear and coherent fashion.”

Mark Snyder, the director of global litigation for Qualcomm, said Van Nest is a great trial lawyer and leader.

Van Nest stands out for his dedication to the case, his collaboration with the client and his breakdown of complex technology concepts, Synder said.

“Tough litigators often pop in at the end, but Bob knew the material backwards and forwards,” Snyder said. “He took incredibly complicated subject matter, simplified it and broke it into smaller parts and presented it in a coherent theme. Bob does that incredibly well.”

— Nicole Tyau