Brian Buroker is a partner in Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher’s Washington, D.C. office and a member of the firm’s Intellectual Property Practice. Brian is a trial lawyer focusing on intellectual property disputes. He has extensive experience leading patent and trade secret trials and appeals in the United States District Courts, International Trade Commission, United States Patent and Trademark Office’s Patent Trials and Appeals Board and before the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Brian also guides clients through complex transactions involving intellectual property rights, including settlement, licensing, and other IP transactions.

Brian litigates a wide range of technologies, including computer software, electronics, telecommunications, medical devices, pharmaceuticals and consumer products. Since 2013, Brian has been recognized by Institutional Investor’s Benchmark Litigation Guide for his work in Washington, D.C. IAM Patent 1000 has ranked Brian as a top Litigation attorney every year since 2016. Brian has been named an “IP Star” by Managing Intellectual Property magazine every year since 2015. He was also selected by Chambers and Partners in the last eight annual editions of Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business Guide as a Leading Lawyer in Intellectual Property in Washington, D.C. and was named a Washington, D.C. “Super Lawyer” for intellectual property litigation from 2011-2020, 2023. He has also been recommended by Legal 500 for Patent Litigation.

Brian has represented clients in the most active patent infringement dockets, including the Eastern District of Virginia, Eastern District of Texas, Delaware, Northern District of Illinois, Northern District of California and the Southern District of New York and the United States International Trade Commission. He also led trial teams in IP arbitrations. He has also argued and won eight appeals at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. He is a former law clerk at the Federal Circuit, having clerked for Judge William C. Bryson.

Brian has advised clients on a wide range of IP transactions as well, including licensing of patents, trade secrets, trademarks and other intellectual property.

Representative Litigation Matters*

• Counsel for T-Mobile adverse to Intellectual Ventures in a 16 patent action in the District of Delaware (D. Del. 2012-present) in which 15 of the 16 patents were dismissed. On appeal, Intellectual Ventures sought to overturn the dismissal as to seven of the patents and that appeal was denied.
• Lead counsel for several telecommunications companies in patent infringement actions brought in the District of Delaware and Eastern District of Texas related to WiFi, VoIP and LTE technologies involving dozens of patents.
• Counsel for Ingevity in multiple patent infringement actions involving emissions control systems in the United States District Court and at the United States International Trade Commission.
• Counsel for major pharmaceutical company in an International Trade Commission action against potential competitors alleging misappropriation of trade secrets.
• Trial counsel for smartphone manufacturers in multiple matters, resulting in favorable outcomes in the Eastern District of Texas and the Northern District of California.
• Appellate counsel for CLS Bank in CLS Bank Int’l v. Alice Corp. (Fed. Cir. 2013) (en banc) and (S. Ct. 2014) . Convinced the Federal Circuit to hear appeal related to patent eligibility of financial services software patent, resulting in a reversal of the panel decision and an affirmance of the district court victory for client CLS Bank.
• Lead counsel for Plaid Technologies, Inc. defending a seven-patent lawsuit brought by competitor Yodlee, Inc. in the District of Delaware (2014-2017). After initial determinations of invalidity and PTAB institutions, the case settled in 2017.
• Trial and appellate counsel for The New York Times in Helferich Patent Licensing, LLC v. The New York Times (N.D. Ill. 2013 and Fed. Cir. 2015).
• Lead PTAB counsel in numerous matters, resulting in favorable outcomes for clients.
• Lead counsel in arbitrations involving IP licensing agreements.
• Lead trial and appellate counsel for patent holder in Energy Transportation Group, Inc. v. Sonic Innovations, Inc. et al., Civil Action No. 05-422 (D. Del.) and (Fed. Cir.), involving hearing aid patents. The jury returned a verdict for client ETG, finding willful patent infringement and awarded damages of $31 million against two defendants. Argued the Federal Circuit appeal which resulted in affirming the verdict and pre and post-judgment interest bringing the total award to around $44 million.
• Lead counsel for Capital One Services, LLC in numerous matters, including Pi-Net International (D.Del.) (pending); N5 Technologies (E.D. Va.) (pending); LML Patent Corp. v. Capital One, et al. (E.D. Tex.) (resolved) and others.
• Trial team counsel in pending matters in the Northern District of California and Delaware involving wireless and smartphone technologies.
• Trial counsel and appellate counsel on dozens of other matters, including being lead counsel on eight appeals that were argued together at the Federal Circuit, including seven reversals of the PTO.

* Includes matters handled prior to joining Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP

Representative IP Transaction/Opinion Matters*

• Negotiated IP agreements in sale of assets by a client to large Internet search company.
• Negotiated settlement agreements in dozens of matters involving licensing of intellectual property.
• Negotiated IP agreements in spin-out of business.
• Opinion counsel on issues of invalidity and infringement.

Brian received his Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, from Georgetown University in 1996, where he served as an editor of The Georgetown Law Journal. He graduated cum laude from North Carolina State University in 1992 with Bachelor of Science degrees in both Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering, where he was also a Caldwell Scholar.

Brian is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia and Virginia, and before the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Federal and Fourth Circuits, the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern District of Virginia and the Eastern District of Texas, and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. He is also registered to practice at the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Speaking Engagements

• Speaker, “Panel Discussion: Alice Corp Pty. v. CLS Bank” at the Florida Bar 6th Annual Intellectual Property Law Symposium in Ft. Lauderdale, FL (Feb. 2015)
• Speaker, “Alice Arrived and Look What Happened: A review of the Supreme Court’s June 2014 decision and its impact on patents” at the New Jersey Intellectual Property Law Association Patent Litigation Seminar in Iselin, NJ (March 2015)