E. Robert Yoches

Partner

Bob Yoches has extensive experience in patent infringement litigation, especially in the Northern District of California, the Eastern District of Texas, and the International Trade Commission. He also has a great deal of experience representing clients from Asia, particularly, Taiwan, China, and Japan, often in complex cases involving electronic and computer technologies.

Mr. Yoches also counsels clients in intellectual property matters including portfolio management, licensing, trade secret protection and copyright protection of software.

Mr. Yoches writes frequently on patent-related topics, and speaks before academic, business, and legal communities in the U.S. and Asia on intellectual property issues.

Highlights

• Representative cases in the telecommunications area include Moll v. Northern Telecom, 1997 U.S. App. LEXIS 17607 (Fed. Cir. 1997) (for Northern Telecom); Nortel Networks, Ltd v. Ciena Corp. (settled in 2003 with a $25 million payment to client Nortel); UTStarcom, Inc., v. Starent Networks Corp., 2007 U.S. App. LEXIS 8739 (Fed. Cir. 2007) (for Starent); UTStarcom, Inc. v. Starent Networks Corp. (for Starent, settled 2009).
• Representative cases in the computer area include AccuScan, Inc. v. Xerox Corp., 2001 U.S. App. LEXIS 11534 (Fed. Cir. 2001) (For Xerox); Insight Dev. Co. v. Hewlett-Packard Co., 2002 U.S. App. LEXIS 15634 (Fed. Cir. 2002) (for Hewlett-Packard); In re Certain Digital Processors, Digital Processing Systems, Components Thereof, and Products Containing Same. Investigation No. 337-TA-529 (for BIAX, settled in 2005); BIAX Corp. v. Intel Corp., 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14250 (E.D. Tex. 2007) (for BIAX, settled in 2007).
• Serves on the editorial boards of The Computer Law Reporter (since 1992) and the Internet Newsletter (since 1996).
• Writes the chapter on litigation for Software Patents.
• Member of the board of editors of Internet Law and Strategy.
• Former adjunct professor at George Mason University Law School.

Professional Recognition

• Selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America, 2005-2013.
• Recognized as a leading patent litigator in the D.C. area by Intellectual Asset Management, 2011-2012.

Professional Activities

• Bar Association of the District of Columbia
• District of Columbia Bar (vice chair, Steering Committee, Computer Law Division, 1985-1986; chair, 1986-1987)
• D.C. Computer Law Forum (Board of Directors, 1992-1993)
• Licensing Executives Society (vice chair, Computer Industry Committee, 1993-1995; chair, Telecommunications Industry Committee, 1996-1998; chair, Information Technologies and Electronics Industries Section, 1998-2000; Board of Trustees, 2002-2004)
• Advanced Computer Law Institute (chair, 1992-2002)

Select Publications

• Coauthor. "With TianRui, the ITC Opens the Door to Scrutiny of Business Practices Beyond U.S. Borders," Commercial Times, May 28, 2013.
• Coauthor. "ITC's Extraterritorial Authority: TianRui 'Opens the Door to Scrutiny of All Business Practices' Outside the United States," BNA's Patent, Trademark & Copyright Journal, May 17, 2013.
• Coauthor. "Borrowing Patents: An Idea Whose Time Has Not Yet Come," Commercial Times, Jan. 8, 2013.
• "Lessons from the Smartphone Wars," MIP Chinese edition, Dec. 2012.
• "How the AIA May Affect United States Patent Litigation," MIP Chinese edition, March, 2012.
• "Licensing Options for Chinese Companies," Imp & Exp Executive Magazine, March 2012.
• Coauthor. "How Will Patent Reform Affect the Software and Internet Industries?" The Computer & Internet Lawyer, Dec. 2011.
• Coauthor. "Defending Trade-Secret Misappropriation Allegations," China IP News, Oct. 2011.
• Coauthor. "Assessing Patent Infringement Risks," Commercial Times, Sept. 13, 2011.
• "Changing Law of Patent Damages in the U.S.," MIP Chinese edition, March 2011.