Martin C. Fliesler

Partner
email: mcf@fdml.com

Overview

Mr. Fliesler is a founding partner of the firm. He counsels clients principally in the fields of computer systems hardware architecture, software (including operating systems, application programs, databases, tools for building web applications, programming languages such as JAVA and object-oriented software), computer peripherals, semiconductor chips and chip sets including microprocessors, complex programmable logic devices, memory, analog signal processors and graphics processors and many other technologies, all as applied to networks, such as LANs, WANs and the Internet, mobile wireless systems such as cellular telephones and satellite communications, digital map-based navigation systems for the in-vehicle, PDA and Internet markets, file transfers (involving anti-virus detection and correction, security and data compression, e-commerce, and e-mail over the Internet) and microwave instrumentation. His practice focuses on the litigation of patents, copyrights, and trade secrets, and negotiating and writing transactional agreements, relating to these and other leading-edge technologies.

Prior to founding the firm, Mr. Fliesler was a Patent Examiner in the United States Patent and Trademark Office (1968-1969), in-house patent counsel for the Communications Satellite Corporation (COMSAT), Washington, D.C. (1969-1972), an associate attorney with Stevens, Davis, Miller & Mosher, Washington, DC (1972-1976), and a partner with Phillips, Moore, Lempio & Majestic, San Francisco, California (1976-1982).

Education

Stevens Institute of Technology, B.E. Electrical Engineering 1965
Brooklyn Law School, J.D. 1968
George Washington University Law School, Postgraduate Courses Intellectual Property Law 1971

Admissions and Memberships

State Bar of California
State Bar of New York (inactive)
United States Patent and Trademark Office
United States Supreme Court
United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
United States District Court for the Northern District of California
Other Federal Appellate and District Courts

Chair of the Model Patent Jury Instructions Working Committee for the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California (2001, 2004 and 2007)
Chair of the Magistrate Judge Merit Selection Panel for the US District Court, Northern District of California, San Francisco Division (2000)
Member of the Magistrate Judge Merit Selection Panel for the US District Court, Northern District of California, San Jose Division (2000)
President of the San Francisco Bay Area Intellectual Property Inn of Court (1998-1999, 1999-2000)
Chairman of the Subcommittee on Intellectual Property Law/Software of the Lawyers Committee of the American Electronics Association (AEA) (1978-1985

Lectures

Publications

Copyrights, Computers and Confusion, California State Bar Journal, (April 1981) (co-author)
Patent and Copyright Protection for Computer Hardware and Software: Patent Misuse and Antitrust Implications, WESCON/81
Patentability of Software, IEEE COMPCON/82
Asserting the Best Mode Defense to Patent Validity, Critical Issues in Patent Litigation , Prentice Hall Law & Business Seminar, (October 1991)

Expert Testimony

Mr. Fliesler has been a testifying expert in the following matters:

Hynix Semiconductor, Inc., et al. v. Rambus, Inc.
U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, Case No. C-00-20905 RMW
In the Matter of RAMBUS, INC.
Federal Trade Commission, FTC Docket No. 9302
In the Matter of Schering Plough Corporation and Upsher-Smith Laboratories, Inc.
Federal Trade Commission, FTC Docket No. 9297
John J. Canter; et al. v. West Publishing Company et al.
U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, Case No. C-96-20440 PVT

Representative Litigation and Transactional Services

As trial counsel, Mr. Fliesler has litigated software patents covering: anti-virus detection and repair, file transfer and SMTP mail messaging via the Internet and local area networks, engines processing natural-language inputs for searching the web, algorithms for color matching between color devices, tools for detecting memory access errors, distributed tape backup systems, and databases. He has also litigated hardware patents and trade secrets covering chip sets for interfacing microprocessors with networks, arithmetic logic units for microprocessors, programmable logic devices, analog integrated circuits, graphics accelerator chips, memories, semiconductor chip fabrication, and test equipment, including microwave vector network analyzers and telecommunications equipment, and more.

Mr. Fliesler's experience also includes litigating patent and copyright license agreements and joint development formation agreements covering boot-up software, anti-virus software, reprogrammable logic devices, and chip sets.

As to his transactional work, Mr. Fliesler has negotiated and written agreements for the transfer of technology and for the licensing and cross-licensing of patent and/or copyright rights in hard disk drives, databases, digital map-based navigation systems, the manufacture of semiconductor chips (foundry agreement), flash memory and software (source code and object code), such as utilities, antivirus detection and correction, word processing, graphical user interface and data compression software, and biotechnology disciplines.

Representative Cases

Hardware/Chip Patents:

Harari v. Hollmer   (Real Parties in Interest: San Disk v. Spansion)
Interference No. 105,606(JL)(2008), U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
Counsel for Spansion (Appellee in pending appeal to U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit). One Spansion patent related to flash memory.

Fujitsu Limited, et al. v. Nanya Technology Corp., et al.
Case No. C-06-6613 CW, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California Counsel for Nanya. Fifteen Fujitsu/three Nanya patents related to DRAMS and their fabrication.

Tele Atlas North America, Inc. v. Xanavi Informatics Corporation, et al.
Case No. C-05-4029 JSW, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
Counsel for Tele Atlas. Two patents relating to vehicle navigation systems and digital maps.

Regal Electronics, Inc. v. Bel Fuse, Inc. et al.
Case No. C-03-1296 JW, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
Counsel for BelFuse. One Regal patent relating to modular connectors.

KeyTrak, Inc. v. Key Register LLC et al.
Case No. C-03-0870 WHA, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
Counsel for KeyTrak. One KeyTrak patent relating to a key tracking device.

Intel Corp. v. S3 Graphics et al.
Case No. C-02-4148 PVT, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
Counsel for S3 Graphics. Five Intel patents relating to chip sets interfacing microprocessors with networks.

Digcom, Inc. v. Anritsu Company et al.
Case No. CIV-02-2142 WBS, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California
Counsel for Anritsu. One Digcom patent relating to a correlated signal processor.

Elantec Semiconductor Corporation v. Pixel Corporation et al.
Case No. C-98-03871 CRB, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
Counsel for Elantec. Two patents relating to analog sync separation circuits for processing video signals.

Advanced Micro Devices (AAMD@) v. Alliance Semiconductor
Case No. C-96-21037 JW, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
Counsel for AMD. Two patents relating to flash memories.

IBM v. Conner Peripherals
Conner Peripherals v. Western Digital
Western Digital v. Conner Peripherals
Case No. C-95-2604/-02605/-02606, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
Counsel for Conner. Ten patents owned by all three parties relating to various architectural, mechanical and electrical disk drive technologies.

Wiltron Corporation v. Microsource
Case No. C-95-2057 SBA, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
Counsel for Wiltron. Two patents relating to oscillators.

AMD v. Cypress Semiconductor
Case No. 95-CV-348, U.S. District Court, District of Delaware
Cypress Semiconductor v. AMD
Case No. 95-CV-869, U.S. District Court of Minnesota
Counsel for AMD. Sixteen AMD/Cypress patents involving many chips such as microprocessors, complex programmable logic devices and memory devices.

Altera Corporation v. Lattice Semiconductor Corporation
Case No. C-94-20601 RMW, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
Counsel for Lattice. Twenty-three Lattice/Altera patents relating to complex programmable logic devices.

Vantis Corporation v. Altera Corporation
Case No. C-94-20567 RMW, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
Counsel for Vantis. Thirteen Vantis/Altera patents relating to complex programmable logic devices.

AMD v. Brooktree Corporation
Case No. C-91-20216 RMW, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
Counsel for AMD. One patent relating to a method for fabricating semiconductor devices.

Maxim Integrated Products v. Teledyne Semiconductor
Case No. C-89-20355 RPA, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
Counsel for Teledyne. One patent relating to dual power supply analog chips.

AMD v. Cypress Semiconductor
Case No. C-88-20527, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
AMD v. Atmel
Case No. C-88-20528, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
AMD v. Gazelle
Case No. C-88-20529, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
Samsung v. AMD
Case No. C-89-2487, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
Counsel for AMD. Four Actions based on two patents covering simple programmable logic devices and arithmetic logic units.

Brooktree Corporation v. AMD
Case No. CV-88-01750, U.S. District Court, Southern District of California
Counsel for AMD. First case tried under the Semiconductor Chip Protection Act for mask work infringement and two patents relating to graphics processors.

Atari v. Commodore
Case No. C-85-20221, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California Counsel for Atari. Two patents relating to microprocessor-based data processing systems.

Software Patents/Copyrights/Trade Secrets:

IPLearn, LLC v. Ask Jeeves, Inc.
Case No. C-99-00352 SBA, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
Counsel for IPLearn. Three patents relating to natural-language input questions and answers for searching the web.

Electronics for Imaging, Inc. v. Compose Systems, Inc. et al.
Case No. C-98-4330 CAL, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
Counsel for Compose. Three patents relating to color management and processing between disparate color devices.

Hilgraeve v. Symantec Corporation
Case No. 97-CV-40370, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan
Counsel for Symantec. One patent relating to antivirus software for desktop, network and Internet gateway systems.

Trend v. Symantec Corporation
Case No. C-97-20438 RMW, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
Counsel for Symantec. One patent relating to antivirus software positioned at firewalls and gateways for protecting data transfers and SMTP e-mail received via the Internet

Pure-Atria v. Platinum Corporation
Case No. C-95-0731 SBA, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
Counsel for Platinum. One patent relating to a software utility for detecting memory access errors.

PCPC v. Symantec Corporation
Case No. 95-301, U.S. District Court, District of Delaware
Counsel for Symantec. One patent relating to tape backup software distributed over a network (LAN or WAN).

Wiltron Corporation v. Hewlett-Packard
Case No. C-88-02840, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
Counsel for Wiltron. Two microwave patents relating to vector network analyzers including fast fourier transfer algorithms.

Franklin Computer Corporation v. Central Point Software
Case No. 87-00871, U.S. District Court, District of Oregon
Counsel for Central Point. Copyright protection for boot up code in a BIOS (basic input/output system).

Telecommunications Techniques Corporation v. Wiltron Corporation
U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
Counsel for Wiltron. Two patents and trade secrets relating to telecommunications signal processing.

North Star Computers v. Servio-Logic Corporation
California Superior Court, County of Alameda
Counsel for Servio-Logic. Trade secrets relating to software for personal computers and networks.

Other Patents:

RSVP Operations LLC v. Reflex Packaging, Inc.
Case No. C-06-299 JSW, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
Counsel for RSVP Operations. One patent relating to thermoformed fragility packaging.

Britesmile v. Discus Dental, et al. (and related counterclaims)
Case No. C02-3220 JSW, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
Counsel for Counterclaim Defendants OraCeutical, et al. Two patents relating to a tooth whitening product and process.