As the Trial Division of The Eclipse Group LLP, O’Connor Christensen & McLaughlin is a group of highly experienced intellectual property trial lawyers and staff who concentrate on patent, copyright, trademark, trade secret, unfair competition and antitrust matters from pre-litigation counseling and, if necessary, through trial and beyond. The lawyers of O'Connor Christensen & McLaughlin have achieved many successful and profound outcomes on behalf of their clients in both trial and appellate courts.
For example, recently on behalf of plaintiff in a high profile antitrust patent tying case, Edward O’Connor successfully reversed grant of summary judgment in the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Independent Ink, Inc. v. Illinois Tool Works, Inc. and Trident, Inc., 396 F.3d 1342 (Fed. Cir. 2005). The defendant appealed to the United States Supreme Court, which granted writ of certiorari, and the high court remanded the case for trial.
Each of the lawyers of the Trial Division has had substantial trial experience and impressive records of winning for their clients. They have achieved multimillion dollar verdicts on behalf of claimants and, on behalf of defendant clients, have settled cases with payment to defendants.
For example, in late 2003, after a three week trial, Craig McLaughlin won a federal jury verdict on a trade dress claim in excess of $3.6 million dollars. The victory also included a permanent injunction and an award of more than one half million dollars in attorney fees. Perine Lowe, Inc. v. Dolly Inc. (C.D. Cal. 2003).
Edward O’Connor won a verdict of more than twenty three million dollars for patent infringement in the case of Automotive Products plc., v. Tilton Engineering, Inc., 855 F.Supp. 1101 (C.D. Cal. 1994). In that case, judgment also included an attorney’s fees award in excess of $3 million.
Becky Christensen recently won $1.08 million for a client in the dietary supplement industry and earlier succeeded in winning payment to defendants in a trademark action in the computer industry after Plaintiffs had demanded more than a million dollars.
The lawyers of the Trial Division have also published a number of books and articles. Edward O’Connor has authored two books on intellectual property law, Intellectual Property Law and Litigation and Intellectual Property Law and Litigation, 2nd Edition, both published by the American Bar Association. Becky Christensen has appeared in the Orange County Register newspaper and Inc.com and Craig McLaughlin has been published in the Orange County Lawyer magazine.
O’Connor Christensen & McLaughlin works closely with the Intellectual Property Law Division of The Eclipse Group LLP to assist clients whose intellectual property rights warrant enforcement, whether issuing a cease and desist letter or whether client needs immediate action to restrain infringement and recover damages. The attorneys in the Trial Division have also prosecuted patents and trademark applications. Edward O’Connor and Craig McLaughlin are licensed to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. This experience too is helpful where the value of such intellectual property is at stake. Additionally, the Trial Division assists other law firms who do not specialize in intellectual property litigation, but wish to work conjunction with intellectual property litigation specialists.
While all intellectual property law firms and many clients recognize that fees in intellectual property litigation are usually relatively high in this specialized and complex area of the law, there is often a great deal at stake for the client. Like the Intellectual Property Law Division of the firm, the Trial Division is able to provide exceptional professional service at reasonable rates because of the experience and efficiency of its attorneys, its specialized focus, and because it does not engage in excessive staffing, associate turnover, or needless duplication of work.