Jennifer Seraphine

Patent Litigation

San Mateo

Jennifer Seraphine is a seasoned intellectual property litigator with a 27-year tenure in the field and has served as a senior partner at Turner Boyd Seraphine for more than a decade.

In her recent work, she has been instrumental in representing Canva US, Inc., bringing forth claims under the Washington Patent Troll Protection Act (PTPA) and seeking declaratory judgment of noninfringement against NPE Accessify LLC and Ascend IP, Inc.

"This is an important case both to determine the scope of the PTPA, and to defend against the assertion of frivolous patent claims," Seraphine said.

Additionally, she is involved in a significant case in the Eastern District of Tennessee on behalf of Vincent Systems GmbH, she said. The case pertains to patent claims related to a unique motor mechanism designed for prosthetic finger elements, which allows for independent finger movement.

"This is an important invention that changes the lives of many," Seraphine said.

Earlier this year, Seraphine's team successfully managed a jury trial concerning trademark infringement and false advertising in the Western District of North Carolina. The plaintiff sought $24 million damages.

Taking over a complex case with twenty-one causes of action and seventeen witnesses shortly before trial, the team's strategic approach led to a jury verdict that found no liability for trademark infringement, validating their fair use defense, Seraphine explained.

"Coming into a case shortly before trial, as we did in the case discussed above, has both challenges and benefits," Seraphine said. "Challenges include coming up to speed, of course, and also living with the record to date. There is, though, definitely a silver lining to coming in and seeing the case with fresh eyes and being able to set aside issues and focus the case on what will be most persuasive to the jury."

When asked about trends within IP, Seraphine said: "As patent litigators we are seeing more non-patent claims, not only trade secret claims, which continue to trend, but also breach of contract, unfair competition, false advertising, and similar related claims. We are also utilizing these claims as defenses, for example in NPE litigations. This may change the way cases are presented at trial."