Notable Successes

Managing IP has named Desmarais LLP the winner of the 2019 Impact Case of the Year Award for the firm’s $82.5 million patent infringement trial verdict for IBM.

Desmarais LLP achieved the victory after a nine-day trial in July 2018 when a jury found Groupon had engaged in willful infringement on all four of IBM’s patents-in-suit. The patents covered graphical user interfaces and inventions vital to e-commerce transactions. The firm’s complete victory at trial resulted in a $57 million settlement two months later, which ended IBM’s litigation and provided Groupon with a license to the patents.

The firm also successfully defended IBM’s patents in inter partes reviews, including a victory before the Federal Circuit that overturned a Patent Trial and Appeal Board decision to invalidate one of the patents that covered online user authentication technology.

The Managing IP Americas Awards recognize the top intellectual property firms in the industry and their achievements during the past year. The winners are selected after gathering information from thousands of firms, attorneys, and clients, as well as publicly available information about ongoing intellectual property matters.