David C. McPhie

David McPhie’s experience is focused on high-stakes intellectual property disputes and other complex litigation. He has secured hundreds of millions of dollars in recoveries for plaintiffs and has successfully represented many defendants, with multiple trial victories recognized as “Top Defense Verdicts” by the Daily Journal. His substantial appellate experience includes arguing appeals before the Federal Circuit and D.C. Circuit. David has also litigated numerous matters before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.

David has applied his legal and technical expertise in cases spanning a wide range of technologies, including medical devices, software, computer networking and security, storage media, semiconductors, and consumer electronics. Before his legal career, he co-authored the book Perl How to Program, published by Deitel & Associates.

Following law school, David clerked for the Honorable Samuel A. Alito, Jr., who was then on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

In his current role as partner emeritus, David devotes his time to teaching and volunteer church service. He has taught patent law for several years at the University of California, Irvine School of Law.

Experience

• Represented network security company in asserting claims of willful patent infringement against competitor founded by former employee. Won early dispositive ruling on key defense and successfully fought off challenges to asserted patents on summary judgment and in the Patent Office. Case ultimately settled for $175 million.
• Defended semiconductor technology client against claim for over $200 million based on alleged breach of contract and breach of implied warranty of noninfringement. Obtained complete defense verdict at trial and an award of over $5 million in attorneys' fees to the defendant. Both verdict and fees were affirmed on appeal.
• Brought claims for willful patent infringement on behalf of pioneering medical device company. Defendant’s counterclaims were eliminated in early motion practice. On summary judgment, court determined at least one asserted claim was both valid and infringed by defendant and that lost profits were available as damages. Defendant agreed to pay $60 million plus ongoing royalty to resolve case before trial.
• Defended networking device manufacturer against patent infringement claims accusing products responsible for $4 billion in annual revenue. Won summary judgment of invalidity and noninfringement on all claims, plus award of costs.
• Represented enterprise software company in case alleging willful copyright infringement and seeking disgorgement of profits “believed to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars.” On summary judgment, court found all asserted copyrights infringed and valid as a matter of law, and also rejected defendant’s affirmative defenses on copyright liability. Case settled shortly thereafter.
• Took over representation of semiconductor equipment manufacturer accused of patent infringement after adverse appellate ruling. At trial, obtained jury verdict of patent invalidity for all asserted claims on multiple grounds. The Federal Circuit subsequently affirmed the judgment in its entirety.

News

Publications

• “Almost Private: Pen Registers, Packet Sniffers, and Privacy at the Margin,” 2005 Stan. Tech. L. Rev. 1 (2005)
• “Access Made Accessible: Shaping the Laws and Technologies that Protect Creative Works,” 51 J. Copyright Soc’y U.S.A. 521 (2004)
• “Old Drugs, New Uses: Solving a Hatch-Waxman Patent Predicament,” 59 Food & Drug L.J. 155 (2004)
• Book Note, 15 Harv. J. Law & Tech. 539 (2002) (reviewing Stuart Biegel, Beyond Our Control? Confronting the Limits of Our Legal System in the Age of Cyberspace (2001))

Speaking Engagements

• “The America Invents Act: Its Vision and Its Impact,” Howard T. Markey Intellectual Property American Inn of Court (January 14, 2025) (co-presenter)
• “Lessons Learned: Practical Application of the Supreme Court's Decisions for Patent Prosecutors and Litigators,” Orange County Bar Association, Intellectual Property & Technology Law Section (August 17, 2015)
• Guest Lecturer, “Challenging Patents in the Courts and the PTO,” Patent Law Course, University of California, Irvine School of Law (September 26, 2012)
• Guest Lecturer, “Reexamination and Litigation,” Patent Law Course, University of California, Irvine (November 16, 2010)

Professional Activities

• Lecturer, University of California, Irvine School of Law
• Harvard Alumni Association, South Orange County
• J. Reuben Clark Law Society, Orange County Chapter
• Howard T. Markey Intellectual Property American Inn of Court