Steven D. Moore

Steven D. Moore focuses his practice on patent infringement and complex commercial litigation matters. He is co-leader of the patent litigation team at Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP, where he’s been for 21 years.

“I was with Kilpatrick in Atlanta doing commercial litigation when we merged with [San Francisco’s] Townsend and Townsend and Crew,” he said, explaining that the deal moved the new firm toward a technology and IP practice. “Some things you don’t plan, but I found I enjoyed the work. I like cases with a competitive flavor to them.”

Moore noted that his undergraduate economics degree comes in handy, “especially on the damages and analytical side” of the cases he does for clients. Among those he represents: Walmart Inc., San Francisco-based direct-to-consumer fashion company Rothy’s, Inc., a multinational technology company he cannot name and—notably—the Japanese gaming and internet media company GREE, Inc.

Acting as GREE’s lead counsel, Moore won patent infringement jury verdicts of more than $100 million in separate cases in Texas against Finnish mobile gaming company Supercell Oy, the maker of popular games such as Clash Royale, Hay Day and Clash of Clans. The defendant is owned by China media giant Tencent Holdings Ltd.

Moore and his client asserted that Supercell’s hit gaming apps infringed Gree’s cutting edge tech patents that cover features such as allowing players to participate in virtual battles, aiding players to acquire virtual items and enabling social gameplay to encourage player engagement.

The biggest award came in May 2021 from a jury that agreed the defendant infringed all six of GREE’s patents at issue and that those patents brought Supercell more than $3 billion in earnings in the U.S. during the relevant time. Gree Inc. v. Supercell Oy, 2:19-cv-00237 (E.D. Texas, filed June 24, 2019).

In September 2020, a different jury found that Supercell willfully infringed a different set of five GREE patents. It awarded $8.5 million in damages. In August 2021, the parties filed stipulations of dismissal that settled all pending litigation and avoided any appeals.

“I’m an old-school gamer from my days with an Atari 2600,” Moore said, referring to a home video game console from the 1980s. “But once I got into this case, I started playing mobile games. It reminded me of my youth.” He and his team found a video game expert, a lifelong gamer who is also a Texas professor of computer engineering. “He was effective and quite pleased with his assignment,” Moore said. As the expert played the games in question, the Kilpatrick Townsend team recorded his hands in action to later show the jury.

“They paid serious attention and came back with their verdict in under three hours,” Moore said.

– John Roemer