James L. Day

An engineer-turned-lawyer, James L. Day leads Farella Braun + Martel LLP’s patent office litigation practice. He joined the firm in 2015.

Before obtaining a JD magna cum laude at UC College of the Law, San Francisco, Day earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and computer science and worked as a software consultant. He is a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

“I love the technical side of what I do,” he said. “Patent Office and inter partes review work tends to stay steady, and we’ve been very busy. Business is good.”

Part of Day’s task is to match old patents to disputes over today’s state-of-the-art devices. “Most cases are about current technology, but the patents were written 15 years ago,” he said. “It’s interesting to map the patent onto the subject of the litigation. A lot of what I do is looking back in time at prior art and the way things were. You are seeking out differences or similarities depending on which side of the case you’re on.”

Day defended an American content delivery network that provides web and internet security services in a patent suit filed by a Finnish inventor and entrepreneur. Valjakka v. Akamai Technologies, Inc., 6:21-cv-00942 (W.D. Texas, filed Sept. 10, 2021).

After consulting with Finnish counsel, Day developed a case-winning strategy based on an obscure defense involving Finnish law. The ploy drove the case to an early and favorable settlement a few months after it was filed.

That was notable because the inventor sued Day’s client as part of a litigation campaign that has expanded to involve 15 other defendants in district court cases based on two patents and an inter partes review. Day’s early work avoided significant expense and distraction for his client.

Day led the Farella team representing Comcast Cable Communications LLC in two patent suits against it by nonperforming entity Comm-Works Solutions LLC (acquired by New Era Technology in 2022). CommWorks Solutions, LLC v. Comcast Cable Communications, LLC, et al., 6:21-cv-00366 (W.D. Texas, filed April 15, 2021); CommWorks Solutions, LLC v. Comcast Cable Communications, LLC, et al., 2:21-cv-00459 (E.D. Texas, filed Dec. 17, 2021).

The cases were unusual because one involved six unrelated patents from three different technical areas. The other asserted two more unrelated patents from two different technical areas. So Day found himself defending Comcast in multiple areas in two plaintiff-friendly courts. Even so, the cases settled favorably for Comcast in mid-2022.

“We were stretched, but I love the technical aspects, and in this case, I got to speak with engineers in several different parts of Comcast’s business,” Day said.

–John Romer