Charles K. Verhoeven is the head of Quinn Emanuel’s Northern California offices in Silicon Valley and San Francisco and is Co-Chair of the firm’s National Intellectual Property Litigation Practice. Mr. Verhoeven is recognized as one of the top litigators in the United States.
Mr. Verhoeven has won billion dollar defense verdicts and dismissals in multiple cases. On the plaintiff side, Mr. Verhoeven has won multiple 9 figure verdicts. Mr. Verhoeven was lead counsel defending the Android operating system, Samsung, Motorola and HTC across numerous District Court and ITC actions brought by Apple and Microsoft, popularly known as the “Smart Phone Wars”. These and other cases are summarized under Notable Representations.
Mr. Verhoeven’s record as lead counsel before the Federal Circuit is 25-3.
Mr. Verhoeven has been inducted into The Legal 500 Hall of Fame under the category of “Intellectual Property, Patent Litigation: Full Coverage,” after being recognized by the publication as an elite leading lawyer for six consecutive years.
Mr. Verhoeven has been repeatedly named one of the Top 100 Trial Lawyers in the United States by Benchmark Litigation (2017, 2016, 2015), and was named a Top 10 IP Star in 2017. The American Lawyer recently referred to Mr. Verhoeven as a “titan of the bar”.
Chambers USA has repeatedly ranked Mr. Verhoeven in “Band One” for Intellectual Property Patent Litigation (2011-2019), identifying Mr. Verhoeven as “an incredibly smart attorney” and noting his “incredible presentation in court.” Multiple sources told Chambers USA that Mr. Verhoeven is “excellent at cross-examination,” and noted his “ability to communicate very difficult jargon in a way that is easy for a jury to understand.” Chambers USA has also repeatedly listed him as one of the 45 “leading individuals” in California in the field of intellectual property.
Mr. Verhoeven has repeatedly been named by California’s The Daily Journal as one of the “Top 100 Lawyers” in the State (2017, 2016, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010). Mr. Verhoeven also has been repeatedly elected to The Daily Journal’s “Top 75 Intellectual Property Litigators” (2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009) and “Top 30 IP Lawyers” (2008, 2005). The Daily Journal has also recognized Mr. Verhoeven as one of the “Top Intellectual Property Attorneys” (2014, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022) and as one of the “Top Trade Secret Lawyers” in 2019. According to the Journal: “Verhoeven has become a giant on the state's intellectual property litigation scene.”
In 2017, Mr. Verhoeven was named “Lawyer of the Year,” by Best Lawyers for San Francisco: Patent Law. He was also recognized in the 2018 and 2023 guide for The Best Lawyers in America as well as a “Global IP Star” by Managing Intellectual Property.
In December 2016, Mr. Verhoeven won Law360’s “MVP Trials” award, which recognizes a select few of the top trial lawyers in the United States. In December 2016, Mr. Verhoeven also was profiled by The National Law Journal as one of 26 top lawyers in “Winning,” an NLJ profile of the most successful litigators in the United States.
In May 2016, Mr. Verhoeven won the National Law Journal’s “Intellectual Property Trailblazers” award. This award recognizes attorneys who have been innovative in practicing law and have changed the way that law firms conduct business.
In April 2016, Mr. Verhoeven won The Recorder’s “Game Changer” award, Litigation Department of the Year, which recognized Mr. Verhoeven for his results after substituting into the SimpleAir v. Google cases in the Eastern District of Texas. Mr. Verhoeven obtained a Federal Circuit reversal of a prior $85 million verdict and a mandate that Google did not infringe; he won a defense verdict of non-infringement in a subsequent trial; and he won dismissal of a third SimpleAir patent infringement suit on the basis of Res Judicata.
Mr. Verhoeven was named a 2015 “MVP of the Year” in Intellectual Property by Law360. The publication’s “MVPs of the Year” series recognizes “elite attorneys whose successes in high-stakes litigation, record-breaking deals and complex global matters” have made the greatest contributions to their practice areas over the past year. Mr. Verhoeven also won this award in 2013.
In 2014, Mr. Verhoeven won “Milestone Case of the Year” at the Managing IP North America Awards for his $283 million plaintiff’s verdict in ViaSat v. Space Systems Loral. Mr. Verhoeven also won Top Verdict of 2014 by The National Law Journal, Top 10 Plaintiff Verdict by Dollar by the Daily Journal, and Top California Verdict of 2014 by The Recorder, achieving the highest dollar amount across all categories.
In March 2012, Mr. Verhoeven won Managing IP’s award as the “Outstanding IP Practitioner” in the United States based on Mr. Verhoeven’s work as lead counsel for Samsung, Motorola and HTC adverse to Apple and Microsoft in the smart phone wars. Mr. Verhoeven and his colleagues at Quinn Emanuel also won Managing IP’s awards for “Best ITC Practice” in the US (2013, 2012) and for best patent litigation firm – US West (2012).
In January 2012, Mr. Verhoeven was named by The American Lawyer as one of five finalists for its “Litigator of the Year” competition. The American Lawyer also awarded Mr. Verhoeven and his colleagues “Intellectual Property Litigation Department of the Year” for 2010. The American Lawyer elected Quinn Emanuel one of two finalists for the same award in 2012.
In 2011, Mr. Verhoeven was named a “Client Service All Star” in BTI Consulting Group’s survey of corporate counsel.
In June 2010, Mr. Verhoeven was profiled by The National Law Journal as one of 10 top lawyers in “Winning,” an NLJ profile of the most successful litigators in the United States.
In 2008, Mr. Verhoeven was named one of the top 50 attorneys in the United States under the age of 45 by IP Law and Business. In 2007, Mr. Verhoeven was named by The American Lawyer as one of its “Fab Fifty,” which was The American Lawyer’s list of the top fifty litigators in the United States under the age of 45. In 2002, Mr. Verhoeven was recognized by California Law Business as one of the top 20 lawyers in California under 40 years old.
Mr. Verhoeven obtained the second largest IP plaintiff’s verdict in the United States in 2002 (source IP Law and Business, April 2003).
Mr. Verhoeven has a national practice and has litigated in Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Washington D.C., Wisconsin, as well as throughout California. Mr. Verhoeven’s IP practice has involved a wide range of technologies, including artificial intelligence, internet, smart phone, tablet and computer hardware and software and systems, cable and cellular communications, semiconductor and storage devices, manufacturing equipment and processes, packaging, MRI and mass spectrometry equipment, polymers, medical devices, DNA sequencing and other biotechnologies.
In addition to IP, Mr. Verhoeven has litigated in the areas of antitrust, entertainment, real estate and complex commercial litigation.
- IBM
- Qualcomm
- Genentech
- Cisco
- Samsung
- Time Warner Cable
- Bally Technologies
- Dow Chemical
- Yahoo!
Trials and Arbitrations (Lead Counsel)
- Obtained a defense verdict of patent invalidity and non-infringement and a counterclaim plaintiff verdict of breach of contract for a major technology company in a District of Delaware jury trial involving internet based artificial intelligence personalization technology for search and advertising in which plaintiff sought over $1 billion in damages.
- Obtained a plaintiff verdict of patent infringement and breach of contract and $283 million in damages for a broadband internet satellite provider in a jury trial involving revolutionary high speed internet satellite technology against Space Systems Loral in the Southern District of California. Click here to read more.
- Obtained a defense jury verdict of patent invalidity and non-infringement for a major software technology company in an Eastern District of Texas trial involving content based internet advertising technology in which plaintiff sought $600 million in damages. Click here to read more.
- Obtained a defense verdict of patent non-infringement for three major internet software and hardware technology companies in an Eastern District of Texas trial involving software for processing the online payment for, and distribution of content from, online stores, such as apps, videos, and music, in which plaintiff sought $300 million in damages.
- Obtained a plaintiff jury verdict of misappropriation of trade secrets and breach of contract and $118.3 million damages, with a judgment of $134 million in damages, for a plaintiff financial products company in an Eastern District of Missouri trial involving technology to create new stable value bank owned life insurance products against The Hartford financial services company.
- Obtained a defense jury verdict of patent invalidity and non-infringement for a major internet technology company in an Eastern District of Texas trial involving artificial intelligence software for use in internet advertising technology in which plaintiff sought $128 million in damages.
- Obtained a defense jury verdict of patent invalidity and non-infringement for an internet digital media delivery company in a five-week District of Massachusetts trial involving internet media streaming and download technology in which plaintiff sought in excess of $200 million in damages.
- Obtained a plaintiff jury verdict of $9 million in compensatory damages and a finding of willful infringement for a media and technology company in a patent infringement trial in the Northern District of California involving word disambiguation software technology.
- Obtained a defense judgment for a defendant assisted living company in a Santa Ana California Superior Court trial in which the plaintiff claimed $750 million in damages due to corporate self dealing during a merger transaction.
- Obtained a plaintiff jury verdict of $5 million in compensatory damages and a finding of willful infringement for a plaintiff medical device company in a patent infringement trial in the Central District of California.
- Obtained a defense judgment for a satellite broadcasting company in a two-week arbitration before a panel of three arbitrators in a case in which the plaintiff claimed $30 million in damages due to an alleged breach of a complex business contract.
International Trade Commission Proceedings (Lead Counsel)
- On behalf of complainant, obtained a limited exclusion order and cease and desist order from the US ITC Commission barring respondent Apple from importing AT&T versions of the iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 3, iPad 3G, iPad 2 3G.
- On behalf of respondent, obtained an order of "no violation of Section 337" in a three patent trial brought by Apple against our client, a major smart phone maker, seeking to exclude virtually all of our client's smart phones from importation into the US.
- On behalf of complainant chemical company, obtained an initial determination of default sanctions and a 25 year exclusion order relating to paint polymers in a trade secret misappropriation action against a Turkish company.
- On behalf of multiple respondents, making up virtually the entire semiconductor industry, obtained an order of "no violation of Section 337" in a six patent trial brought by Rambus, in which Rambus sought to exclude the importation of billions worth of semiconductor products. The ALJ found all six patents invalid and several of the patents unenforceable due to spoliation of evidence.
- On behalf of respondent, obtained an order of "no violation of Section 337" as to two operating system patents in a trial brought by Apple against our client, a foreign smart phone maker. Apple initially sought exclusion based on eight operating system patents, but ended up dropping six of the eight patents by the end of trial. The ALJ found "no violation" as to the two remaining operating system patents after trial.
- On behalf of respondent, obtained an order of "no violation of Section 337" as to eight of nine patents in a trial brought by Microsoft against our client, a major smart phone maker, seeking to exclude our client from importing its smart phones into the US. The remaining patent was designed around and no phones were ever excluded.
- On behalf of respondent, obtained an order of "no violation of Section 337" in a three patent trial seeking to exclude our client, a global telecommunications company and the then largest mobile handset manufacturer in the world, from importing its handsets into the United States.
- On behalf of respondent, obtained an order of "no violation of Section 337" by the ITC Commission in a five patent trial brought by the then largest telecommunications carrier against our client, a major cable company, in which the carrier sought to exclude the importation of all set top boxes by our client.
Summary Judgments/Dispositive Motions (Lead Counsel)
- After obtaining a writ of mandamus from the Federal Circuit transferring the action from the Eastern District of Texas to Northern California, won summary judgment of non-infringement of all asserted claims on the two patents asserted by plaintiff for our client, a biotech company, in a patent case involving HCMV enhancer technology in which plaintiff sought $1.6 billion in damages.
- In the Eastern District of Texas, won summary judgment on behalf of our client, a major networking company, dismissing plaintiff's claims in a patent case on the ground that the purported inventor on the patent did not own the patent by virtue of an employment assignment agreement with his prior employer. Plaintiff had sought in excess of $1 billion in past damages.
- Obtained summary judgment of non-infringement on behalf of over 30 cellular telephone manufacturer defendants in a patent case brought by the University of Texas in its home town of Austin involving cellular technology, where the university sought in excess of $1.5 billion in damages.
- In the District of Hawaii, won summary judgment of invalidity based on Section 101 on behalf of a major cable and internet company in a suit involving video on demand technology, in which plaintiff sought $900 million in damages.
- In the Eastern District of Texas, won summary judgment of non-infringement on all asserted patents on behalf of a major software technology company and three smart phone OEMs in a case involving virtual machine software and hardware technology, in which plaintiff sought in excess of $650 million in past damages.
- In the Eastern District of Texas, won summary judgment of non-infringement on all asserted patents on behalf of two internet technology companies in a case involving internet search technology in which plaintiff sought $400 million for past damages.
- In the District of Nevada, in a five patent case brought by IGT against our client, a major gaming company, won summary judgment dismissing all five asserted patents based on a combination of rulings of non-infringement and invalidity, where IGT had sought damages in excess of $350 million in damages.
- In the Northern District of California, obtained summary judgment of invalidity due to obviousness on all four asserted patents, based on KSR Int'l v. Teleflex Inc., in a case involving Internet media search and playback technology. This was the first reported post-KSR summary judgment decision resulting in dismissal based on obviousness.
- In the Northern District of California, obtained a ruling on summary judgment for a defendant entertainment company that invalidated the independent claims of a notable on-line music patent that had been asserted against over 200 on-line music companies. The court found non-infringement as to the remaining claims, found the case was exceptional and awarded defendant its costs and fees.
- In the Eastern District of Texas, won summary judgment of non-infringement on all asserted claims on behalf of an internet technology company in a case involving internet search technology in which plaintiff sought $100 million in damages.
- In the Eastern District of Virginia, won summary judgment of non-infringement on behalf of two major internet technology companies in a case involving advertising action technology in which plaintiff sought over $150 million in damages.
- In the Eastern District of Texas, won summary judgment of invalidity as to all asserted claims in a patent case involving internet search technology.
- In the Central District of California, obtained a ruling on summary judgment for a plaintiff's packaging company that defendant had infringed two of plaintiff's patents.
- In the District of Nevada, won summary judgment of invalidity on one asserted patent and summary judgment of non-infringement on the remaining asserted patent on behalf of a major gaming company.
- In the Northern District of California, obtained a ruling on summary judgment for an Internet software manufacturer that invalidated three Internet protocol patents that had been asserted against 39 Fortune 500 companies.
- In the Eastern District of New York, obtained stipulated judgment of non-infringement on all asserted claims following favorable claim construction ruling for a major internet technology company, in a case involving online advertising system web server technology, in which plaintiff sought over $100 million in damages.
- Intellectual Property Litigation
- Life Sciences Litigation
- Antitrust & Competition
- Lender Liability & Other Banking Financial Institution Litigation
- Domestic U.S. Arbitration
- Entertainment & Media Litigation
- Patent Litigation
- Real Estate Litigation
- Trade Secret Litigation
- Internet Litigation
- Appellate Practice
- International Trade Commission Proceedings
- International Arbitration
- University of Iowa School of Law
(J.D., with high distinction, 1988)- Iowa Law Review:
- Articles Editor, 1987-1988
- Member, 1986-1987
- Iowa Law Review:
- University of Iowa
(B.B.A., with distinction, 1985)
- The State Bar of California
- The State Bar of New York
- United States Supreme Court
- United States Courts of Appeals:
- Ninth Circuit
- Tenth Circuit
- Federal Circuit
- United States District Courts:
- Northern District of California
- Central District of California
- Eastern District of California
- Southern District of California
- Eastern District of New York
- Southern District of New York
- Eastern District of Michigan
- Eastern District of Arkansas
- Western District of Arkansas
- Eastern District of Texas
- Western District of Wisconsin
- District of Colorado
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore:
- Associate, 1988-1993
- Listed in The Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch for Patent Law, 2023
- Listed in The Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch for Commercial Litigation, Litigation - Intellectual Property, Litigation - Patent, Patent Law, 2011
- "South Carolina v. Catawba Indian Tribe: Terminating Federal Protection with 'Plain' Statements," 72 Iowa L. Rev. 1117 (1987).
- Fellow, American Bar Foundation
- Member, Association of the Bar of the City of New York
- Member, American Bar Association