Brent A. Hawkins

Brent also is a co-leader of the firm’s cross-practice Automotive & Mobility Industry team and has litigated and counseled on patents relating to in-vehicle infotainment systems and instrument clusters, electric vehicle charging technology, vehicle location and route guidance software, diesel engines, and fuel injectors. In addition to his automotive and mobility experience, Brent has represented clients in matters concerning patents for audio/video switching and control systems, consumer electronics, thermal printing, houseware goods, furniture systems, orthotic devices, pharmaceutical products, gene therapy technology, power control and supply, semiconductors and integrated circuits, and software, including patented technologies concerning cloud computing, Internet of Things (IoT), cellular technology, video coding, secured storage, streaming media, and Wi-Fi. Brent also has litigated complex licensing disputes involving software, consumer products, and funded biotechnology.

Brent advises clients in licensing negotiations, including those relating to alleged standard essential patents (SEPs) for wireless and wired technologies, as well as related fair, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory (FRAND) issues. This includes advising clients on licensing SEPs declared essential to the cellular standards (3G/4G LTE/5G), WiFi (802.x), video coding (H.264 AVC/H.265 HEVC), wireless charging (Qi), and others. Brent further applies his patent experience to the transactional realm by working with clients to perform due diligence investigations and render opinions in the sale or acquisition of businesses or targeted business assets involving various technologies. Utilizing his engineering background, Brent also has prosecuted patent applications across an array of mechanical, electro-mechanical, and software technologies.

Brent has previously served on both the Magistrate Judge Review Selection Panels for the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. He also has served on the Seventh Circuit Pattern Civil Jury Instructions Committee for trademark and copyright cases.

Patent Litigation

• Defended a leading manufacturer of personal desktop and laptop computers in the ITC and District of Delaware as part of global patent litigation concerning SEPs  relating to the H.264, H.265 and AV1 video codecs 
• Represent a vehicle manufacturer in connection with multiple patent infringement lawsuits in the Western District of Texas and Northern District of California relating to electric power storage and delivery technology 
• Defending a leading manufacturer of wireless asset tracking technologies in a patent litigation in the Western District of Texas in which the plaintiff asserts infringement of four patents allegedly directed to radio-frequency identification (RFID) interrogators and methods for interrogating RFID objects
• Successfully represented a research institution in a lawsuit it brought in the Western District of Pennsylvania, in which the client alleged patent infringement, breach of contract and misappropriation against its former licensees responsible for developing and exploiting technology relating to systems for treating insomnia
• Representing a leading manufacturer of wireless asset tracking technologies in a patent litigation in the Northern District of Texas (Dallas) in which it alleges that the defendant infringes patents directed to Bluetooth Low Energy asset tracking technology
• Successfully obtained summary judgment and dismissal of an action against a leading manufacturer of wireless asset tracking technologies in a patent litigation in the Western District of Texas in which the plaintiff asserted infringement of a patent allegedly directed to use of RFID technology concurrently with a second wireless technology
• Represented a mobility technology company in a pair of patent infringement actions, each brought in the District of Delaware, in which the plaintiffs in both cases alleged that use of our client’s mobile application and platform infringed patents directed to route guidance software and systems
• Obtained dismissal of complaint brought in the District of Delaware against our client, a global manufacturer and supplier of vehicle infotainment interactive audio/video interface systems
• Successfully defended a leading manufacturer of wireless asset tracking technologies in a patent litigation in the District of Delaware by obtaining a finding of invalidity of the two asserted patents involving thermal modeling in printer technology, and full dismissal of infringement claims
• Represented a leading manufacturer of video and voice communication technology in the Western District of Texas in a patent litigation involving telephone switching technology using a networking protocol for sending the programming language code to a client server
• Represented a leading global manufacturer of furniture and space solutions for offices, hospitals, classrooms, and residential interiors in a patent litigation in the Western District of Michigan, in which our client alleged that a competitor infringed seven utility and design patents directed to office furniture and furniture systems
• Represented a leading manufacturer of video and voice communication technology in the Western District of Texas in patent litigation involving Power over Ethernet (PoE) technology in audio conferencing technology
• Successfully represented a manufacturer of wireless instrumentation hardware and its subsidiary in patent litigation in the Central District of California, in which we obtained a finding of invalidity and full dismissal of patent infringement claims asserted against our client’s wireless monitoring and cooling control network systems
• Represented a manufacturer of video switching and control devices in patent litigation in the Eastern District of Texas involving PoE technology, in which we successfully argued several Daubert motions that ultimately limited the plaintiff’s expert’s damages theories
• Represented a residential real estate brokerage in patent litigation in the Eastern District of Texas, in which the plaintiffs accused our client of infringing patents directed to online real estate transaction systems
• Obtained summary judgment of noninfringement and no breach of contract on claims brought against a leading housewares manufacturer in the Northern District of Illinois, and also prevailed on a breach of contract counterclaim brought by our client against the plaintiffs

Trademark, False Advertising, and Copyright Litigation

• Representing International Code Council in trademark and false advertising litigation in the Northern District of Illinois involving defendant’s use of ICC’s plaintiff’s marks in connection with building certification services in International Code Council, Inc. v. DrJ Engineering, LLC
• Defending Manus Bio, Inc. against false advertising claims relating to sweetener product in the Central District of California in Sweegen Inc. v. Manus Bio Inc.
• Represent Manus Bio, Inc. in trade libel and tortious interference litigation in the Central District of California in Manus Bio Inc. v. Sweegen Inc.
• Successfully defended Uber Technologies Inc. and Uber Freight in a trademark infringement action brought in the District of Utah in Freightlink v. Uber Freight Link
• Represented Turtle Beach in a trademark infringement action it brought against Neatframe Inc. in the District of Delaware alleging infringement of Turtle Beach’s NEAT trademarks in Voyetra Turtle Beach Inc. v. Neatframe Inc.
• Defended Jobot LLC in trademark litigation involving its use of marks purportedly owned by plaintiffs on Jobot’s information website pulled from a biographical website in Aerotek, Inc. v. Jobot LLC et al.
• Represented Zebra Technologies in trademark litigation in the Northern District of Illinois involving defendant’s use of plaintiff’s mark in connection with products sold into the healthcare and health services industries in Zebra Technologies Corp. v. Zebra Medical Vision
• Defended PUMA North America in trademark infringement suit in the Central District of California in which In-N-Out Burgers alleged that PUMA infringed federal registered trademarks covering its palm tree logo and other design elements through PUMA’s Cali-O Drive Thru and California Drive Thru athletic shoes in In-N-Out Burgers v. PUMA North America Inc. et al.
• Represented North Coast Brewing Co. in right of publicity and trademark litigation brought in the Northern District of California against brewery by the estate of a jazz musician for use of the musician’s likeness in connection with beer products, a percentage of the proceeds of which were donated to the musician’s charitable foundation in Estate of Thelonious Sphere Monk v. North Coast Brewing Co. Inc.
• Defended Lee Brett in trademark infringement suit brought in the Central District of California for his use of mark in connection with billiards operations and billiards instructions in LFP IP LLC v. Lee Keith Brett.
• Successfully prosecuted Jesus Muhammed Ali’s copyright infringement claims in the Northern District of Illinois asserting that the defendant’s made unauthorized lithographic reproduction of our client’s paintings in Ali v. Final Call Inc.
• Represented Grecian Delight Foods in a trademark infringement suit brought in Northern District of Illinois for defendant’s use of certain marks in connection with food products that infringed our client’s family of marks in Grecian Delight Foods Inc. v. Litehouse Inc. 
• Represented Namasté Laboratories in a trademark and copyright infringement suit brought in the Southern District of Florida arising from the defendant’s distribution of organic hair care products in Namasté Laboratories LLC v. ASNC Sales & Marketing et al.
• Represented World Kitchen in an action in the Northern District of Illinois where it brought a motion for temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction for trade dress and counterfeiting action involving consumer houseware products in World Kitchen, LLC, et al. v. Big Lots Inc., et al.
• Defended CPI at trademark infringement jury trial in the Northern District of Ohio involving a major photography studio chain brand name in Picture Me Press LLC v. CPI Corp. et al.
• Obtained summary judgment on behalf of Springline Architects and homeowners in a copyright suit involving luxury residential architectural designs brought in the District of the Virgin Islands; the decision of the district court was affirmed by the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Barefoot Architecture Inc. v. Bunge, et al. 
• Represented Livoti AIA in copyright infringement action brought in the District of New Jersey in which our client alleged that Susquehanna Bank and Minotola National Bank infringed commercial architectural designs for regional bank structures in Livoti v. Minotola National Bank, et al. 

Other Complex Litigation

• Secured a complete defense jury verdict for a vehicle manufacturer in connection with a certified class bringing claims under consumer protection statutes and involving millions of vehicles alleged to have defective HVAC system
• Represented a venture philanthropist non-profit organization in an action it filed in the Northern District of Illinois against its funded research developer alleging breach of the terms of certain medical research funding agreements relating to the development of gene therapy technology
• Represented a US military veteran in a lawsuit brought against the United States and the Department of Veterans Affairs of San Francisco under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) for damages arising from negligent surgical procedures