A WilmerHale team has been recognized in Litigation Daily’s “Litigators of the Week” column for their work representing Dropbox in inter partes review (IPR) proceedings before the US Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). 

The recognition stems from the firm’s successful defense over the past six years of a series of patent infringement claims brought by Motion Offense, a non-practicing entity that had asserted multiple patents, against Dropbox and its customers. Motion Offense’s claims relate to alleged innovations in file-sharing and cloud storage technologies—areas core to Dropbox’s business. In May 2023, WilmerHale invalidated four of Motion Offense’s patents in a jury trial in Waco, Texas. Shortly before that trial, Motion Offense sued Dropbox on a fifth patent. In response, Dropbox, represented by WilmerHale, filed IPR petitions challenging that patent’s validity. The court case was then stayed pending the final outcome of the IPRs. 

The PTAB ultimately ruled in Dropbox’s favor, finding the challenged claims unpatentable. This outcome eliminated a significant threat to Dropbox without the cost of litigating the court case.

The WilmerHale team included Greg Lantier, Trishan Esram, Liv Herriot, Amanda Major, Elizabeth Trujillo, Dan Williams and Todd Zubler.