Dropbox's Legal Team Praised by Litigation Daily's "Litigators of the Week" for their Successful Defense
In a significant victory for Dropbox, a legal team from WilmerHale has successfully defended the company against a series of patent infringement claims brought by Motion Offense over the past six years. The case, which involved complex patent disputes related to file-sharing and cloud storage technologies, core to Dropbox's business, has been hailed as an exemplary use of Inter Partes Review (IPR) proceedings to challenge patent validity and efficiently resolve high-stakes disputes in the tech industry.
Motion Offense, a non-practicing entity, asserted multiple patents against Dropbox and its customers, alleging infringement. However, WilmerHale's strategic legal actions, led by Greg Lantier, Trishan Esram, Liv Herriot, Amanda Major, Elizabeth Trujillo, Dan Williams, and Todd Zubler, have proven instrumental in neutralizing these patent threats.
The team's strategy included the invalidation of several of Motion Offense’s patents during a jury trial in Waco, Texas in May 2023. Soon after, when Motion Offense filed suit on an additional patent, Dropbox, with WilmerHale’s counsel, petitioned the US Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) to review the patent’s validity. This move resulted in a stay of the related court case pending the outcome of the IPR.
The PTAB's ruling in May 2023 declared the contested patent claims unpatentable, effectively removing a significant legal threat to Dropbox without the expense and uncertainty of further litigation. This outcome eliminated a significant threat to Dropbox without the cost of litigating the court case.
The WilmerHale team's efforts have been widely recognised. They were highlighted in *Litigation Daily*’s “Litigators of the Week” column, acknowledging the team’s tenacity and legal acumen in protecting Dropbox’s core business interests from prolonged patent litigation.
This case underscores the strategic use of IPRs to challenge patent validity and efficiently resolve high-stakes disputes in the tech industry. By leveraging both trial and administrative proceedings, WilmerHale’s team has secured a favourable outcome for their client while minimizing litigation costs and business disruption.
Motion Offense, a non-practicing entity, alleged that Dropbox and its customers infringed on several patents related to file-sharing and cloud storage technologies, a central aspect of Dropbox's business. In response, the legal team from WilmerHale, consisting of Greg Lantier, Trishan Esram, Liv Herriot, Amanda Major, Elizabeth Trujillo, Dan Williams, and Todd Zubler, employing a combination of trial and administrative proceedings, such as IPR, successfully invalidated several of Motion Offense’s patents and obtained a ruling from the PTAB declaring the contested patent claims unpatentable, thereby eliminating a significant legal threat to Dropbox, particularly in the realm of finance and technology, while minimizing litigation costs and business disruption.
