Richard Birnholz has extensive experience in complex litigation in federal and state courts, concentrating on high-stakes patent litigation in courts throughout the country. He has tried cases in the United States district courts and before the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) and has successfully argued appeals before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Richard was selected by Los Angeles Magazine for inclusion in the Southern California Rising Stars list in 2004 and the Southern California Super Lawyers list in 2005-2024.
Before joining Irell & Manella LLP, Richard served as an extern for the Hon. Ruth Bader Ginsburg, then a judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. During law school, Richard served on the editorial board of the UCLA Law Review and published a comment entitled, "The Validity and Propriety of Contingent Fee Controls," 37 U.C.L.A. L. Rev. 949 (1990).
Experience
- WinView Inc. v. DraftKings Inc. et al. (D.N.J) / WinView Inc. v. FanDuel, Inc. (D.N.J). Represents the plaintiff in patent infringement suits relating to distributed gaming and entertainment services.
- Immersion v. Apple. Represented Immersion as trial counsel in multi-patent action pending before the ITC, the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware and the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. The dispute involved several Immersion patents relating to tactile feedback technologies that were asserted against Apple devices. The ITC case went to trial before the chief administrative law judge. The dispute settled when Immersion entered into settlement and license agreements with Apple, the terms of which are confidential.
- TiVo v. Samsung. Represented TiVo in patent infringement litigation against Samsung in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. The case involved TiVo’s claims under four patents relating to digital video recording (DVR) technologies.
- The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York v. Symantec. Representing Columbia in patent litigation in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia against Symantec involving antivirus and anomaly detection inventions.
- Motorola Mobility Inc. v. TiVo Inc./ TiVo Inc. v. Cisco Systems Inc. Represented TiVo Inc. in patent litigation over DVR technology against Motorola Mobility and Cisco Systems. On June 6, 2013, shortly before the start of trial, Motorola and Cisco agreed to pay $490 million to TiVo to resolve the litigation.
- TiVo v. Verizon. Represented TiVo in a patent infringement suit against Verizon accusing the company of infringing three of TiVo's DVR technology patents. In September 2012, shortly before trial was scheduled to begin, a settlement was reached in which Verizon agreed to provide TiVo with total compensation worth at least $250.4 million. As part of the settlement, TiVo and Verizon agreed to dismiss all pending litigation between the companies with prejudice. The parties also entered into a cross license of their respective patent portfolios in the advanced television field.
News
Honors & Awards
- Selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America (2012-2025)
- Named to the Southern California Super Lawyers list (2005-2024)
- Recognized in The Legal 500 for Intellectual Property – Patent Litigation (2018-2019)
- Named to the Southern California Rising Stars list (2004)
Publications
- "A Snapshot Of The Post-MSTG Landscape," Law360 (February 26, 2013)
Speaking Engagements
- "District Court Trends and Developments," American Bar Association's IP West (October 3, 2018)
- "Apple v. Samsung and Other Hot Patent Damages Topics," CalCPA Forensic Services Section: All Sections Joint Meeting (2013)
- "Admissibility of Settlements and Negotiations in Patent Litigation: Update and Strategy,” Intellectual Property Owners Association (January 31, 2013)
- "Remedies: Damages and Injunctive Relief from Various Perspectives,” IPO Annual Meeting (September 14, 2009)
- "Rules Aren't Made to Be Broken: Follow Them or Risk the Consequences!" (Federal Rules of Evidence), IPO Annual Meeting (September 13, 2005)
Practice Areas
Education
UCLA School of Law (J.D., 1990); Order of the Coif; Editorial board member, UCLA Law Review
Stanford University (A.B., Economics and Political Science, 1987), with distinction
Admissions
- California, 1990
- U.S. District Court for the Central, Eastern, Northern and Southern Districts of California, 1992
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth and Federal Circuits
Clerkships
- Hon. Pamela Ann Rymer, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit