Timothy C. Saulsbury

Timothy C. Saulsbury says preparation is the key to success and understanding a client's technology is how he wins in court.

"We're able to provide some unique tailored experiences for our clients because, instead of going through the standard defense playbook that costs your client a lot of money, we often dive into the weeds of the technology at the outset, determine why we clearly do not infringe, and then figure out how to demonstrate that to the plaintiff (and the court) in an easy-to-understand and irrefutable way," we'll do a preliminary search and eventually talk to the engineers and get as much discovery prepared for trial as we can," Saulsbury said. "This approach sets us up for both pretrial victories and jury verdict wins," Saulsbury added.

Saulsbury is a partner in Morrison Foerster's San Francisco office that specializes in patent and trade secrets litigation. Currently, he is the lead attorney for Zoom Communications Inc., defending itself in a legal battle brought by Cyph, Inc. There are six patents related to end-to-end encryption technology at the center of the dispute. Cyph, the purported competitor, is seeking damages that exceed $100M annually on patents with roughly 15 years of life remaining. Cyph, Inc. v. Zoom Communication, Inc., 4:22-cv-00561 (N.D. Cal., filed Jan. 28, 2022).

As lead counsel for Zoom, Saulsbury played a crucial role in securing a decisive early victory. He managed to have the case transferred from Colorado, where it was originally filed, to the Northern District of California. This move proved to be advantageous for Zoom, as it gave them an edge in the legal battle.

The legal drama continued as the MoFo team won two consecutive motions to dismiss the complaint in its entirety. This was followed by the Court ordering Cyph to have one final chance to correct the defects in their case, failing which the case would be dismissed with prejudice.

Saulsbury and his team then filed a third motion to dismiss, asking the Court to dispose of the entire case with prejudice. The latest update on the case is that the Court issued a tentative order indicating that it was inclined to grant Zoom the motion.

"We were pretty aggressive from the onset," Saulsbury said. That's what really gave us the upper hand. Saulsbury's strategic legal moves have been instrumental in securing favorable outcomes for Zoom in this legal battle. His decision to have the case transferred to the Northern District of California has given Zoom an advantage, as this court is known to be tech-savvy and better equipped to handle complex technology-related cases.

Furthermore, his success in winning two successive motions to dismiss the complaint in its entirety has put Cyph on the back foot. This has given Zoom the upper hand in the legal battle. His third motion to dismiss, asking the court to dispose of the entire case with prejudice, is yet another masterstroke of legal strategy.

If the court grants Zoom's motion, it would be a significant blow to Cyph's case. It would mean that Cyph's case is dismissed for good, and they could no longer pursue it in any court of law.

This would be a victory for Zoom and a testament to Saulsbury's legal acumen.

--Douglas Saunders