Top Patent Litigator Steve Korniczky Joins Sheppard Mullin
Stephen S. Korniczky has joined the San Diego/Del Mar office of Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP as a partner in the firm's Intellectual Property practice group. Korniczky will also co-chair the firm's 70-attorney IP practice group with current co-chairs Daniel N. Yannuzzi and Carlo F. Van den Bosch. Korniczky most recently practiced at Paul Hastings in San Diego. He was a member of Paul Hastings' Litigation Steering Committee and served as chair of its Global IP Practice Group from 2005 to 2009, overseeing its growth from 25 to over 100 IP attorneys.
Korniczky focuses his practice on patent litigation and strategic IP counseling. He has litigated over 100 patent disputes in his 23 year career and has a particular expertise handling large multi-patent infringement actions throughout the United States. Korniczky's representative litigation clients include Samsung, HTC Corporation, Kyocera Wireless, SMIC, MediaTek and ESPN.
"Steve is an excellent fit for us. His practice, firmly entrenched in the mobile communications, semiconductor, computer, consumer electronics, and entertainment industries, dovetails well with the firm's current client base and industry specialties, including synergies with our Asia and entertainment practices," said Guy N. Halgren, chairman of the firm.
"I am excited about joining Sheppard Mullin, a premier law firm that represents large multi-national technology corporations, as well as start-up, emerging growth and middle-tier companies," Korniczky commented. "I am also impressed with the growth of the firm's IP practice in recent years, its antitrust litigation capabilities, and its collegial culture that embraces entrepreneurship. I look forward to taking a significant role in helping to grow the practice even further."
"Steve has a long history of success handling high-stakes patent lawsuits," said Yannuzzi. "We have worked together over the years, initially at our former law firm Lyon & Lyon. Later, when I was general counsel for a multi-national semiconductor company, I retained Steve to handle our most important 'bet-your-company' patent litigation matters. I know from experience that Steve's commitment and drive for success are unparalleled," said Yannuzzi.
Korniczky recently represented defendants, Samsung SDI Co., Ltd. and Samsung SDI America, Inc., in a patent infringement action filed by Honeywell International, Inc., in the District of Delaware, against the LCD industry. Eighty-five percent of the manufacturing industry paid to license the patent-in-suit. Nonetheless, on the eve of trial, Steve successfully invalidated the patent when the Honorable Joseph J. Farnan granted Steve's motion for summary judgment of invalidity filed on behalf of his clients.
Korniczky also successfully resolved a two-year patent infringement action brought by his client, MediaTek, Inc., a Taiwan-based fabless IC company, against a large Japanese consumer electronics manufacturer in the Eastern District of Texas. The dispute, valued at several hundred million dollars, involved three patents covering integrated chipset solutions for compressing video and audio data in cameras, DVDs and televisions. The dispute was resolved on the eve of trial.
Korniczky is also registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and has significant experience monetizing patent portfolios. He regularly counsels clients on business oriented IP licensing and portfolio development strategies. For example, Korniczky recently negotiated a license with Freescale Semiconductor, Inc., which involved analyzing over 40 patents involving Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) technology, memory arrays, amplifiers, circuits for electrostatic discharge protection, metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFET), and processes of fabricating integrated circuits. He has successfully designed and implemented value-added strategies to raise venture capital, generate licensing revenue, cross-license competing IP, and position technology companies for acquisition.
Korniczky received a J.D. from the University at Buffalo Law School, State University of New York in 1987 and his B.S. in engineering from Polytechnic University in 1984. He is ranked by Chambers USA as a leading patent attorney and recognized in the directory as a "strong and versatile litigator."
Korniczky is the latest partner to join the firm's IP practice group. In April, partner Russ Hill joined Sheppard Mullin's Intellectual Property practice group in the Orange County office from Howrey. In November, Paul Garrity joined the New York office of Sheppard Mullin as an IP partner from Kelley Drye.
Additionally, today Kevin Puvalowski joined the New York office of Sheppard Mullin as a partner in the Business Trial practice group, where he will concentrate on white collar and civil fraud defense. Puvalowski most recently served as Deputy Special Inspector General in the Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program ("SIGTARP"); before SIGTARP, he was a federal prosecutor in Manhattan for more than seven years.
About Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP
Sheppard Mullin is a full service AmLaw 100 firm with 550 attorneys in 11 offices located in the United States and Asia, 70 of those attorneys are based in the firm's San Diego offices. Since 1927, companies have turned to Sheppard Mullin to handle corporate and technology matters, high stakes litigation and complex financial transactions. In the U.S., the firm's clients include more than half of the Fortune 100.