Ryan K. Yagura

O'Melveny & Myers LLP

Los Angeles

Patent litigation

As Yagura flew to Seoul, South Korea, last month to meet with clients including Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., he had a cold, so he wore a facemask to avoid sickening O'Melveny colleagues traveling with him. And as the trip proceeded most in the country they were visiting masked up too -- thanks to the outbreak there of the coronavirus.

"As it turned out, I did not stand out at all with my face covered," he said. "As the trip went on, mask requirements were in place almost everywhere there."

Yagura is a former Intel Corp. engineer and the chair of O'Melveny's intellectual property and technology practice, and he's intent on staying healthy as he and his client fend off another wave of patent claims by entities backed by hedge funds, he said.

For much of 2019, Yagura was busy managing a contentious patent infringement investigation for Samsung at the U.S. International Trade Commission and serving as the partner in charge of more than a dozen matters for other clients including Hyundai Motor Co., HP Inc., Lockheed Martin Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc.

The 2019 cases against Samsung were filed by Tessera Technologies, a subsidiary of Xperi Corp., seeking an ITC exclusion order that could have banned Samsung from importing any of its smartphones, tablets, laptops, smart watches, computers and accessories into the U.S.

Yagura and colleagues argued successfully to an ITC administrative law judge that the asserted technology fell within the scope of a license that called for arbitration of disputes.

Now, Dublin, Ireland-based Neodron Ltd., backed by well-heeled investors, has filed a series of high-stakes cases in the Western District of Texas and at the ITC. Neodron accuses Samsung of infringing multiple patents relating to touchscreen technology; at the ITC, it is seeking an exclusion order barring products from the U.S.

The devices at issue include the Galaxy S9+, the Galaxy Tab S4 10,5 and the Notebook 9 Pro 15. Trial is set to start this month. In the Matter of Certain Touch-Controlled Mobile Devices, Computer and Components Thereof, 337-TA-1162 (ITC, filed May 22, 2019).

"This is a new growth area," Yagura said of the spate of suits against Samsung and other tech giants including Microsoft Corp., HP Inc., Sony Corp. and Apple Inc. "There are a lot of these entities newly backed by investors going after deep pockets companies and casting their nets pretty wide."

He said he and Samsung have devised an overriding strategy of focusing on each case as it comes and conferring frequently to maintain a uniform approach. "We want to achieve a consistent strategy for the long haul," he said.

--John Roemer