Michael J. Lyons

Lyons leads the firm’s Silicon Valley litigation practice and specializes in patent, copyright, trade dress, trade secret and other technology-focused litigation. His practice encompasses technology ranging from video streaming and consumer electronics to medical devices.

Lyons and the Morgan Lewis team recently secured a major International Trade Commission victory for three client groups in a complex patent case involving wireless networking and routing technology. Certain Routers, Access Points, Controllers, Network Management Devices, Other Networking Products, and Hardware and Software Components Thereof (ITC Inv. No. 337- TA-1227).

Q3 Networking asserted infringement of three Wi-Fi technology patents against hundreds of products from Hewlett Packard Enterprise/ Aruba, NETGEAR and CommScope (including ARRIS and Ruckus). The accused products encompassed the majority of those companies’ wireless routers and access points, network management devices and controllers. Q3 sought a complete ban on the importation of these products into the United States. Following a 10-month fact and expert discovery period, the case went to trial in July.

“It was a huge group, with an equally huge number of accused products and a number of confused infringement theories. The ITC is always a high-speed docket, it’s always intense,” Lyons said. “This was a major team effort across the firm,” pulling in attorneys from the firm’s Silicon Valley, Los Angeles, D.C. and other offices.

The administrative law judge recently issued an initial determination finding that the accused products did not infringe any of Q3’s asserted patents and also found there is no domestic industry in the patented technology.

“It was just a clean sweep on the issue of infringement across the board for every client, every product, including the domestic industry. It was a really satisfying win, and it showcased some of the strengths of Morgan Lewis— just having a team that is in all locations that you would want, with all the expertise you would need, even in a massive case going a hundred miles per hour, we were able to hit all the marks and deliver.”

The Commission has delayed the final result until June, but “given the way the decision was written, we’re pretty confident it’s going to end up in the right place,” Lyons said.

He also handles a variety of pro bono casework, for example, acting as a moot court panel member for the Family Violence Appellate Project, helping secure a domestic violence restraining order for a mother of three children, or helping an immigrant apply for asylum in escaping gang violence in El Salvador.

“I’ve been pretty eclectic in my pro bono work—part of that is I’ve told a lot of younger attorneys that if they need someone more senior to work with them, I’ll do it,” he said. “So it’s pulled me in a lot of different directions over the years, but it’s been really interesting and gratifying. I’ve gotten to work with junior attorneys, where they’re taking the lead and I’m more of an advisor.”

– Jennifer Chung Klam