Litigation Partner Joseph Re was interviewed by Law360 for their Trial Pros series. Joe discusses his most interesting trial, unexpected experiences while in trial, and more.
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Trial Pros: Knobbe Martens' Joseph Re | Law360
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Trial Pros: Knobbe Martens' Joseph Re
Law360, New York (March 11, 2016, 2:27 PM ET) --
Joseph R. Re has been a litigation partner at Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear LLP in
Irvine, California, since 1990. Re joined the firm after completing his clerkship with
the Honorable Howard T. Markey, Chief Judge of the United States Court of
Appeals for the Federal Circuit. He has a very active patent trial and appellate
practice, primarily in the medical device and health care areas, and has tried patent
cases all over the country. His litigation success has led to numerous awards and
honors, including being named by Law360 as an Icon of IP in 2016 and an IP MVP in
2014.
Re has served as the president of the Federal Circuit Bar Association and on the
Federal Circuit’s Advisory Council. He has also served on the board of directors for
the American Intellectual Property Law Association and is an AIPLA Fellow.
Q: What’s the most interesting trial you've worked on and why?
A: It was a 2004 jury trial in a patent case where I represented a small local Orange County, California,
company called Masimo Corp. against Tyco Healthcare-subsidiary Nellcor Puritan Bennet. Nellcor
dominated the pulse-oximetry market for years and my client was breaking into that market with
revolutionary technology. That new technology allowed these devices to measure blood oxygen
saturation even during patient movement. My client had gotten the company off the ground and raised
$90 million because of the patents on this technology. Now was the moment of truth for the company
and its patents. We had an attentive jury and were confident of a favorable outcome because we were
representing an amazing innovator who was trying to make his technology available to patients despite
the actions of the infringer. The jury did uphold the patents, found infringement and awarded damages.
(The Federal Circuit affirmed.)
While my team continues to repeat the many war stories from this grueling but exhilarating trial, what
made the case so memorable and interesting to me was how it showed the importance to the public of
the patent system. The patent system was the only way for my client to protect the technology and
bring it to market in the face of a corporate giant who had no interest in seeing the technology flourish. I
had always been a big fan of the patent system, having served as a law clerk for a great patent lawyer
named Chief Judge Markey at the Federal Circuit. But this was the case that firmly convinced me why
our country so desperately needs a strong patent system. It was a shining example of how the patent
system fosters revolutionary improvements in technology to all our benefit. My client’s technology was
at risk of never making it to patients at all, but for the patents, the investments based on those patents
Joseph R. Re