Morgan Chu

Chu, a prominent intellectual property litigator, is the chair of Irell’s litigation practice group. He joined the firm in 1977 and made partner in 1982. Since April 2020 alone he has racked up $3.4 billion in patent trial awards for his clients, including a $2.2 billion jury verdict for VLSI Technology LLC in a patent infringement case against Intel Corp., a sum said to be the second-largest infringement award in U.S. history.

That outcome, decided in March 2021, remains in post-trial proceedings. VLSI Technology LLC v. Intel Corp., 6:21-cv-00057 (W.D. Texas, filed April 11, 2019).

Even as Chu awaits Intel’s likely appeal, he’s readying for more courtroom action. “I have five more trials this year,” he said, including another for VLSI against Intel in Texas.

In his winning effort for VLSI, Chu said he made sure that the technical issues surrounding Intel’s claimed infringement were easily understandable for the jury. He also focused on the real-world benefits Intel obtained by using VLSI’s patents. And he reminded jurors that testimony from Intel’s fact witnesses was internally inconsistent and in conflict with the testimony of Intel’s experts.

In early July, Chu was getting ready for trial in federal court in North Carolina—until the matter settled just before jury selection was set to begin. He represents the holder of the trademark for “ICAN” for use on tee shirts and other clothing items.

The trademark holder, Kelsey Battle, claimed infringement by the athletic retail giant Under Armour Inc., which uses the phrase “I Can Do All Things” on a line of products for basketball superstar Stephen Curry, who is known for writing his favorite bible verse, from Philippians, on his shoes: “I can do all things.”

After Chu wrote to Under Armour seeking to resolve the matter, Under Armour sued in Maryland for a declaratory judgment that it did not infringe Battle’s mark. Chu filed a counterclaim and successfully moved to transfer the case to North Carolina, where Battle does business. Under Armour Inc. v. Battle Fashions Inc., 1:17-cv-03223 (D. N.C., filed Nov. 1, 2017).

In creating the ICAN mark, Battle was “inspired by his military service and life experiences to create a faith-based and empowerment orientated brand for apparel,” Chu’s complaint stated. “The ICAN mark represents aspiration and ambition: ‘The Brand of a Positive Life.’”

“After extensive litigation and on the eve of trial, the parties were able to come to an amicable resolution,” Chu said. “Mr. Battle’s business may be small, but he stood firm on his trademark rights. With the litigation resolved, Mr. Battle can focus on continuing to build his ICAN brand.”

- John Roemer