Eugene Novikov

Novikov is a Durie Tangri litigation partner who typically represents technology company clients, with a focus on patent, trade secret and consumer class action matters. His cases have entailed deep dives into video games, computer security, mobile device hardware, data compression, materials science and other fields.

He joined the firm in 2011 after working as an associate at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP. In 2013 he took a three-year hiatus to work for the U.S. Department of State as a foreign service officer on overseas tours in Nigeria and Pakistan. “At the time, I had no attachments and it was an opportunity to see the world,” he said. “I’m glad I did it. Oftentimes, lawyers don’t know people from dissimilar backgrounds. It can be helpful to diversify your experience.”

Novikov made partner in 2019. His clients include Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp., Plexxikon Inc., 10x Genomics Inc. and the microfluidics-based genomics company Dropworks Inc.

As lead counsel, he defended Apple in a consumer class action over claims it intentionally disabled its Facetime video chat feature to force customers to upgrade their operating systems. The case settled in 2020 for $18 million following a pre-trial conference. Grace v. Apple Inc., 5:17-cv-00551 (N.D. Cal., filed Feb. 2, 2017).

For Plexxicon, a Berkeley drug discovery company, Novikov is counsel in its patent infringement suit against a rival pharmaceutical company. Plexxicon developed Zelboraf, the first FDA-approved targeted therapy for metastatic melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer in the U.S. Plexxikon Inc. v. Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp., 3:17-cv-04405 (N.D. Cal., filed Aug. 3, 2017).

Zelboraf competes directly with Novartis’ Tafinlar, the drug accused of infringing Plexxicon’s patents. Plexxicon’s case has survived Novartis’ summary judgment motion and is currently set for trial in July in Oakland before U.S. District Judge Haywood S. Gilliam Jr.

Last year Gilliam denied Novartis’ motion for leave to file a second summary judgment motion. The trial is planned to be before an in-person jury with Covid protocols in place, Novikov said.

“This is one of those cases where it is easy to become emotionally invested,” Novikov said. “A small group of scientists made discoveries that changed a lot of lives, and now we are protecting the IP that came out of that.”

He explained that Plexxicon is a startup that found a way to do drug discovery in a more efficient manner. “Big pharma tests many compounds. Plexxicon figured out how to screen and model compounds on a computer without a lot of expensive laboratory research and development.”

Prepping for trial, Novikov said, is “super-fun and complex, as we figure out how to distill what our client has done into a compelling story about a pretty abstruse set of facts that is going to be organic-chemistry heavy.”

— John Roemer