Partner Seattle, Washington Phone: 206.373-7383 Fax: 206.516.3883 btaylor@susmangodfrey.com* Print this Profile (PDF) Download Business Card BROOKE TAYLOR is a partner in the firm's Seattle, Washington office. Ms. Taylor represents both plaintiffs and defendants in a wide variety of complex commercial litigation matters throughout the nation including antitrust, breach of contract, and audit disputes. Ms. Taylor especially enjoys learning the details of her clients' business operations - whether it involves crude oil or internet retailing. Ms. Taylor treats every case as if it is going to trial. That means mastering the facts, providing around the clock dedication, and thinking strategically to focus the dispute on the merits so we can prevail at trial without wasting time on issues that aren't outcome determinative. Ms. Taylor also handles significant intellectual property disputes for both plaintiffs and defendants. In 2006, Ms. Taylor filed amicus briefs in three cases pending before the United States Supreme Court, including eBay Inc. v. MercExchange, LLC. Ms. Taylor has also provided legal commentary on CNBC regarding patent issues including eBay and KSR v. Teleflex cases. Click here to watch Ms. Taylor debate the eBay case. Click here to watch Ms. Taylor debate Callaway's entitlement to a permanent injunction enjoining further infringement of its golf ball patent. Washington Law & Politics recently recognized Ms. Taylor as a 2010 Rising Star and featured her in this article.  Ms. Taylor is one of the founding members and Vice President of Programs for the Seattle IP Inn of Court. SIGNIFICANT CASES AND RESULTS Intellectual Property Vasudevan Software, Inc. v. IBM and Oracle (N.D. Cal.) (2009- ) - lead counsel for patentee VSi. WizKids, Inc. v. Wizards of the Coast, Inc. (W.D. Wash.) (2007-2008) - lead counsel for patentee Wizards of the Coast, Inc. Successfully opposed two early summary judgment motions; case settled just before Markman proceedings. Paltalk Holdings, Inc. v. Microsoft Corp. (E.D. Tex.) (2006 - 2009) - prosecuted Paltalk's patent infringement claims against Microsoft concerning Microsoft's Xbox Live offerings. Case settled during jury trial presided over by Judge Folsom. Leap Wireless International and Cricket Communications v. Metro PCS Communications, Inc. (E.D. Tex.) (2006-2008) - Representation of plaintiff in patent infringement suit against Metro PCS involving U.S. Patent No. 6,813,497, and defense of Leap in cases filed in courts in Dallas, Tampa, and California. Case settled before Markman proceedings. MicroUnity Systems Engineering, Inc. v. Sony (E.D. Tex.) (2005-2007) - Prosecution of MicroUnity's patent claims alleging that Sony's PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable infringe MicroUnity's patents covering mediaprocessor and memory controller technology. In re CLI Patent Litigation (N.D. Cal.) (2004-2006) - Representation of Compression Labs, Inc. and Forgent Networks in prosecution of patent claims against numerous defendants including Apple Computer Incorporated, Eastman Kodak Company, Hewlett-Packard Company, International Business Machines Corporation, and Xerox Corporation. MicroUnity Systems Engineering, Inc. v. Intel and Dell (E.D. Tex.) (2004-2005) - Prosecution of MicroUnity's patent claims alleging that Intel's Pentium III, Pentium 4, and Pentium M processors infringed MicroUnity's patents covering "mediaprocessor" technology; case settled a month before trial for a confidential sum; Intel publicly disclosed the financial terms of the settlement in its Third Quarter 2005 10-Q. Soverain Software v. Amazon.com (E.D. Tex.) (2004-2005) - Defended Amazon.com against patent infringement claims relating to web site shopping cart technology; case settled days before trial and after a grant of one of Amazon.com's motions for summary judgment. Autobytel Inc. v. Dealix Corporation (E.D. Tex.) (2004 - 2007) - Defended Dealix against patent infringement claims relating to purchase requests over a computer network; case settled after jury selection and after the Court granted in part one of Dealix's motions for summary judgment argued by Ms. Taylor, limiting the plaintiff's damages before March 23, 2004. Significant Commercial Litigation Matters Lyondell-Citgo Refining, Co. v. PDVSA (S.D.N.Y.) (2002-2006) - Prosecution of breach of contract claim alleging that PDVSA, the national oil company of Venezuela, made improper declarations of force majeure to avoid fulfilling contractual obligations to sell crude to LCR. After defeating PDVSA's motion to dismiss the case under the "act of state" doctrine and completing extensive discovery in the United States and Venezuela, Susman Godfrey obtained an adverse inference against PDVSA for refusing to produce documents, and, following that discovery sanction, filed a motion for summary judgment on behalf of the plaintiff. The case settled while that summary judgment motion was pending. Gateway, Inc. and Microsoft Corporation (2005) - Representation of Gateway, Inc. in negotiation of agreement pursuant to which Microsoft will pay Gateway $150 million over four years; as part of the agreement, Gateway released antitrust claims against Microsoft. Be Incorporated v. Microsoft Corporation (N.D. Cal.) (2002-2003) - Prosecution of antitrust claims alleging monopolization of the market for PC operating system software; case settled during discovery. Under the terms of the settlement, Be received a payment of $23,250,000 after attorneys' fees and expenses. All other terms of the settlement remain confidential. Bank of America v. REI, Inc. (King County, Washington Superior Court) (2002-2003) - Defense of suit alleging misappropriation of trade secrets in connection with marketing of co-branded credit cards; case settled near end of discovery. Bensimon v. Amazon.com Commerce Services (Bankr. C.D. Tex.) (2002-2003) - Defense of Amazon in suit by bankruptcy trustee to recover $64,000,000 in damages for alleged fraudulent conveyance and breach of contract; court granted summary judgment in favor of Amazon; case then settled for nominal sum. Amicus Briefs eBay Inc. v. MercExchange L.L.C., in the United States Supreme Court (2006) - Represented the most important American inventors of our time in an amicus brief filed with the United States Supreme Court in the eBay Inc. v. MercExchange L.L.C. case. The following inventors signed a brief focusing on the importance of injunctive relief in our patent system, their inventions are noted in parentheses: Martin Cooper (cell phone); Dr. James Fergason (liquid crystal displays); Dr. Ray Damadian (Magnetic Resonating Imaging (MRI)); Dr. Leroy Hood (DNA sequencer); Dr. Paul MacCready (human-powered flying machine); Burt Rutan (SpaceShipOne reusable private aircraft to travel into space); and Dr. Nathan Myhrvold, former Chief Technology Officer of Microsoft and co-founder and CEO of Intellectual Ventures, a firm that provides inventors with necessary research tools and funding, develops inventions internally, and buys and licenses inventions from others. Click here to view the brief. KSR International Co. v. Teleflex, Inc., in the United States Supreme Court (2006) - Represented Intellectual Ventures in an amicus brief. Click here to view the brief. MedImmune, Inc. v. Genentech, Inc., in the United States Supreme Court (2006) - Represented licensing executives in this brief in support of Genentech; co-counsel with Professor Richard A. Epstein. EDUCATION Duke University (B.A., 1998) The University of Chicago (J.D., 2001) HONORS & DISTINCTIONS Executive Editor, The University of Chicago Legal Forum, 2000-2001 Law Clerk to The Honorable Gerald Bard Tjoflat, Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit, 2001-2002 Washington Law & Politics recognized Ms. Taylor as a Rising Star in its 2009 and 2010 editions BAR ADMISSIONS & PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS Supreme Court of the United States The Federal Circuit Western District of Washington Eastern District of Washington Eastern District of Texas Southern District of Texas Seattle IP American Inn of Court, Vice President, Programs *Internet mail is not fully secure or private. Therefore, please do not transmit confidential information via Internet mail. 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