Mike Bettinger

Sidley Autin LLP

San Francisco

Intellectual Property

Litigation

Mike Bettinger is a trial guy -- the person companies call when they're not satisfied with their representation. He was called upon twice in 2019 to replace lead counsel as trial approached.

Yardi Systems was among those companies when it retained Bettinger to take over as lead counsel in a trade secret misappropriation and copyright infringement lawsuit against rival Entrata and to defend a countersuit from the company for allegedly trying to monopolize the property management software market.

With more than $150 million at stake, settlements of both suits were reached on the eve of trial in Utah federal court. Yardi Systems, Inc. v. Property Solutions, Inc., 13-cv-07764 (C.D. Cal., filed Oct. 21, 2013).

But Bettinger's most significant work this year came in the form of a settlement between two of the biggest players in the smartphone market in litigation affecting their customers and other businesses aroudn the world.

In a first-of-its-kind dispute between international competitors in what he's called the "Smartphone wars," Bettinger represented Huawei in a FRAND related patent infringement lawsuit against Samsung alleging it earned billions of dollars selling standardized products that use his client's technology and for refusing to engage in good faith licensing negotiations involving Huawei's 4G LTE patent portfolio. The case quickly ramped up as Samsung countersued, alleging Huawei violated antitrust laws.

"It was the first time two foreign companies were fighting it out in U.S. court," he said. "From a legal standpoint, it was really interesting to be on frontline of making arguments that would shape how policy would unfold around the world."

U.S. District Judge William Orrick ended up granting a rare summary judgment motion in favor of Huawei on Samsung's antitrust claims and later denied its motion for unpatentability for select patents. As trial approached, Bettinger was able to get Samsung to agree to resolve the matter on confidential, favorable terms. Huawei v. Samsung, 16-CV02787 (N.D. Cal., filed May 24, 2016).

As companies transition to 5G technology, Bettinger is poised to be a key player in litigation concerning licensing agreements.

"It's still new," he said of the novel legal issues presented in the case, adding he plans to stay involved in the arena.

-- Winston Cho