Darren Franklin

Darren M. Franklin is an associate in the Intellectual Property Practice Group in the Los Angeles office of Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP.

Areas of Practice

Mr. Franklin is a registered patent attorney and specializes in intellectual property matters, including patent litigation, patent prosecution and counseling, and litigation concerning trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, and unfair competition.  He has represented companies and individuals involved with diverse technologies in both federal court litigation and prosecution before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Education

• J.D., Stanford Law School, 2000. Executive editor, Stanford Law Review. Member, Stanford Technology Law Review.
• B.A., University of California, Berkeley, 1997, physics and political science. Member, Phi Beta Kappa.

Clerkships

• Clerk, Honorable Margaret M. Morrow, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, 2000-2001.
• Extern, Honorable John G. Davies, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Summer 1998.

Admissions

• California
• U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
• Federal courts in California

Representative Matters

Won appellate victory before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on behalf of the president of a consumer products company in a patent infringement case involving issues of personal liability and lost profits damages.  Wechsler v. Macke Int’l Trade, Inc., 486 F.3d 1286 (Fed. Cir. 2007).

Argued and won before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on behalf of a plastic bag manufacturer in a patent infringement case involving supermarket fixtures.

Won summary judgment on behalf of a consumer products company and a wholesale club chain in a patent infringement case involving pet products.  Flexi-Mat Corp. v. Dallas Mfg. Co., No. 04-10162-DPW, 2006 WL 962161, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19528 (D. Mass. Apr. 11, 2006).

Argued and won a patent claim construction hearing before the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California on behalf of a motorcycle trailer importer.

Represented a leading biomedical company in successfully opposing summary judgment motions filed in a patent infringement case involving DNA sequencing technology.  Case ended with a favorable settlement.

Represented a worldwide office products company in a trade secrets and breach of contract case involving pricing labels.  Case ended with a favorable settlement.

Negotiated litigation settlement and trademark licensing agreements on behalf of a Japanese intellectual property company in a trademark infringement case involving clothing and shoes.

Represented a leading online marketing firm in a trademark and copyright infringement case involving Internet advertising.  Handled discovery meet-and-confer.

Represented a leading chip manufacturer in a patent infringement case involving flash memory chips.  Performed trial preparation and support.

Represented a major consumer electronics company in a copyright infringement case involving digital video recorders.  Handled discovery meet-and-confer and prepared discovery motions.

Memberships

• American Intellectual Property Law Association, member of Giles Rich Moot Court committee, 2006-2007
• Los Angeles Intellectual Property Law Association
• Public Counsel Adoptions Project, volunteer attorney
• Association of Business Trial Lawyers
• Los Angeles County Bar Association

Articles

• Patent Pools, New York Law Journal, April 21, 2008
• Leadership Liability: Protecting Directors, Officers From Exposure to Patent Infringement Damages, San Diego Daily Transcript, January 31, 2008
• The Supreme Court Opens the Door to More Patent Challenges, July 2, 2007
• The Federal Circuit Cracks Down on DNA Inventions of Uncertain Utility: The Fisher Case, December 7, 2005
• Patent-Reform Bill Promises Changes to Transform Law, September 14, 2005
• Is Your Patent Counsel’s Work Privileged?, July 28, 2004

• Hanging a Shingle on the Information Superhighway: Legal Advice on the Internet, 2001 Stan. Tech. L. Rev. 2.
• The Mass Tort Defendants Strike Back: Are Settlement Class Actions a Collusive Threat or Just a Phantom Menace?, 53 Stan. L. Rev. 163 (2000).

Speeches

• Spoke at panel on intellectual property law careers at Southwestern Law School, September 2007.
• Lectured on international copyright law at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law, October 2006.