Fish & Richardson Principals Named “2018 Winning Litigators"

Fish & Richardson principals Chad Shear and Jonathan Singer have been named "2018 Winning Litigators" by The National Law Journal (NLJ) for reversing a $2.5 billion jury verdict against client Gilead Sciences. The NLJ called Shear and Singer “star litigators” and “masters of the courtroom.” Both attorneys are located in Fish’s Southern California office, based in San Diego.

In Idenix Pharmaceuticals LLC et al. v. Gilead Sciences, Inc., Fish wiped out the $2.5 billion willful infringement jury verdict against Gilead – the largest patent damages award in history – after winning a rare motion for judgment as a matter of law. The case involved Gilead’s blockbuster drugs Sovaldi® and Harvoni®, which cure hepatitis C.

“We won this extraordinary remedy by proving that Idenix’s patent was invalid due to lack of enablement. After presenting volumes of evidence on the enablement issue, the judge’s ruling called our enablement evidence ‘devastating’ to Idenix,” said Singer.

“Our winning strategy focused on taking a deep dive into the trial evidence and law, focusing on and articulating a robust enablement argument and intense oral argument preparation,” added Shear. “We convinced the judge that a reasonable jury, even taking all of the evidence in the light most favorable to Idenix, could only conclude that Idenix’s patent was invalid due to lack of enablement.”

Fish has been representing Gilead for over five years in its worldwide, complex patent battle with Merck and Idenix (now owned by Merck) over Gilead’s Sovaldi and Harvoni drugs. In addition to federal court cases and post-grant proceedings at the USPTO, the case has included litigation in Norway, the U.K., Canada, Germany, Australia, and the European Patent Office.