Notable Successes

Desmarais LLP achieved a trial victory for Google LLC in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, successfully defeating a long-running patent infringement lawsuit brought by Sholem Weisner over location tracking technology in Google Maps.
 
Following a four-day bench trial, U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein dismissed the litigation with prejudice after finding that the plaintiff committed intentional fraud on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Rather than simply adopting a prior Magistrate Judge’s Report and Recommendation, Judge Hellerstein gave the plaintiff and his co-inventor a final opportunity to testify and present evidence, rendering a de novo decision.
 
The lawsuit, originally filed in 2020, alleged that Google Maps’ "Your Timeline" and "Your Places" features infringed five patents. However, the Desmarais LLP team built a compelling defense of inequitable conduct. During the trial, the team presented clear and convincing evidence that Weisner had not only intentionally abandoned his patent application for several years, but subsequently deceived the USPTO to revive it—most notably by forging his co-inventor’s signature on the revival petition.
 
The Desmarais LLP team that secured the victory includes Karim Oussayef, Michael Rhodes, Jamie Kringstein, Frederick Ding, Kevin Gu, Ashley DaBiere, and Rix Ryskamp.
 
Bloomberg Law – “Google Defeats Inventor’s Lawsuit Over Mapping Software Patents” (subscription required)
Law360 – “Google Prevails As Judge Tosses Weisner Patent Suit” (subscription required)
 

Ashley DaBiere

Frederick J. Ding

Jamie L. Kringstein

Karim Z. Oussayef

Michael R. Rhodes

Rix A. Ryskamp