Darin W. Snyder

SAN FRANCISCO - Darin W. Snyder specializes in intellectual property litigation at O'Melveny & Myers LLP. His leadership roles at the firm include his current membership on the executive committee and his post as head of diversity, equity and inclusion. He is the immediate past regional head of litigation for Northern California, immediate past chair of the IP and technology practice group and former head of the San Francisco office.

Last year he was O'Melveny's partner in charge of more than three dozen IP matters, about a third of them for client Google LLC. Snyder is the firm's overall coordinating partner for Google.

"Google is terrific as a client," Snyder said. "They're extremely sophisticated and helpful in managing the cases, with wonderful in-house lawyers. I'm always eager to represent them, and they are a target, along with their subsidiaries like YouTube and Waze."

For example, Snyder is lead counsel defending three related patent cases filed against Google, Waze and Samsung. The plaintiff asserted six patents against more than 40 Google products and services, including the Find My Device app and Google Maps and against hundreds of Samsung products and services, particularly focusing on Samsung devices' use of Google Maps and messaging services. AGIS Software Development LLC v. Waze Mobile Ltd., 2:19-cv-00359 (N.D. Cal., filed Nov. 4, 2019); AGIS Software Development LLC v. Google LLC, 2:19-cv-00361(N.D. Cal., filed Nov. 4, 2019); AGIS Software Development LLC v. Samsung, 2:19-cv-00362 (N.D. Cal., filed Nov. 4, 2019).

Originally filed in the Eastern District of Texas, Snyder significantly narrowed the scope of the dispute by invalidating many of the asserted claims through two successful IPR proceedings. He then successfully petitioned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to transfer the matters to Northern California in August 2022.

"It was a big development to get 'em out of the Eastern District of Texas, literally on the eve of trial," Snyder said. "It's possible for defendants to win in the Eastern District, but it's unusual. The district has a well-deserved reputation for being plaintiff-friendly, especially against big corporations. The Northern District of California is much more tech savvy and evenhanded. And we're especially pleased that the case has now been assigned to Beth Labson Freeman, a very good judge [in San Jose]."

Snyder can win in Texas, too, as he showed when he persuaded jurors there to find in Google's favor in October 2021 on a plaintiff's infringement claims regarding Google's Nest Hub smart picture frame. Google brought Snyder on to step in as lead trial counsel just months before trial. Profectus Technology LLC v. Google LLC, 6:20-cv- 00101 (W.D. Tex., filed Feb. 10, 2020).

"We tried to focus on easy-to-understand themes, and that aided the jury in coming to the right conclusion," Snyder said. Referring to the plaintiff-friendly court of a prominent West Texas judge, Snyder added, "And we proved defense cases can be won in front of [U.S. District Judge Alan D.] Albright."