Benjamin W. Hattenbach

For Hattenbach, getting back into the office and working directly with his colleagues again is on the top of his wish list for 2021.

However, the Irell & Manella LLP partner and his team appear to have done well navigating a remote work environment already after successfully trying one of the biggest cases of Hattenbach’s career in March.

Hattenbach represents VLSI Technology Inc. in five different infringement cases in various courts against Intel Corp.

In one of the cases, VLSI claimed Intel infringed patents on technology related to microprocessors used in computers. The trial — set in Waco, Texas — was delayed by a week due to an ice storm that shut down most of the state, Hattenbach said.

“There were no restaurants open in Waco,” Hattenbach said. “We had rolling blackouts, which were occurring throughout Texas. We didn’t have an internet connection for most of the week. The temperature came down to I think it was slightly below zero degrees Fahrenheit at one point.”

“So, it was quite an interesting experience for reasons you don’t normally have to deal with during a trial,” he said.

Despite the challenges, Hattenbach and his team secured a $2.175 billion jury verdict last month. VLSI Technology LLC v. Intel Corp., 21-CV00057 (W.D. Tx., filed April 11, 2019).

“That’s, I would say, a very significant achievement,” Hattenbach said.

Intel has vowed to appeal.

In another case, Hattenbach served as co-lead counsel for Tessera Inc. It claimed that Toshiba Corp. owed considerable damages for failing to pay amounts due under parties’ semiconductor packaging technology license agreement and failed to cooperate with audits.

The case was pending in the Northern District of California and settled confidentially last year. Tessera, Inc. v. Toshiba Corporation, 15-CV02543 (N.D. Cal. Filed June 8, 2015).

While the past year posed unprecedented challenges, Hattenbach said that although courts and lawyers have started to utilize more technology to facilitate remote hearings, a trial lawyer’s skills are just as critical as it was when he started practicing intellectual property law a quarter century ago.

“You have to fundamentally come up with a compelling case that persuades people that your client is in the right,” Hattenbach said. “I don’t think that has ever changed or will ever change.”

— Henrik Nilsson