Christopher Hanba has over 15 years of experience in intellectual property litigation, with particular experience in representing clients in the technology sector. Chris acts as lead counsel on patent, trademark, and secret misappropriation litigation matters. He regularly appears before the federal courts and the International Trade Commission, and has handled a number of cases relating to intellectual property rights in Asia.
Chris’s background in software consulting gives him unique insight when it comes to advising clients. Chris is well-versed in handling matters involving a wide variety of technology, including network security, cellular technology, semiconductors, microprocessors, DRAM and NAND flash memory architecture, computer systems, software, network technology, mobile devices, biotechnology, digital camera technology, internet technology, medical devices, automotive devices, sensor technology, and software-based medical infrastructure services.
Chris served as a Law Clerk to the Honorable Samuel Der-Yeghiayan in the United States District Court and as judicial extern to the Honorable Arthur J. Gajarsa in the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Prior to beginning his legal career, Chris was a software consultant, giving him a unique insight into related matters.
Chris’s background in software consulting gives him unique insight when it comes to advising clients. Chris is well-versed in handling matters involving a wide variety of technology, including network security, cellular technology, semiconductors, microprocessors, DRAM and NAND flash memory architecture, computer systems, software, network technology, mobile devices, biotechnology, digital camera technology, internet technology, medical devices, automotive devices, sensor technology, and software-based medical infrastructure services.
Chris served as a Law Clerk to the Honorable Samuel Der-Yeghiayan in the United States District Court and as judicial extern to the Honorable Arthur J. Gajarsa in the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Prior to beginning his legal career, Chris was a software consultant, giving him a unique insight into related matters.
Education & Credentials
Education
University of New Hampshire School of Law (Franklin Pierce)
J.D., 2006- Pierce Law Review. Editor-in-Chief
- Saul Lefkowitz Moot Court
University of Michigan
B.B.A, Computer Information Systems, 1997Bar Admission
Prominent Assignments
- Lead trial counsel for patent holder SunStone Information Defense in a patent infringement action against IBM relating to malicious software detection in systems that guard financial institutions against transaction fraud in the Western District of Texas. The case settled after the jury was charged.
- Lead counsel for patent holder Taiwan-based software company in patent infringement relating to intellectual property asset management systems in the Western District of Texas. The case settled on favorable terms for the client.
- Lead counsel for Taiwan-based manufacturing company in trade secret misappropriation case involving theft of trade secrets currently pending in the District of Massachusetts and the Eastern District of North Carolina.
- Lead counsel for Taiwan company in patent malpractice action currently pending in the Northern District of California.
- Lead counsel for Taiwan-based semiconductor company in patent infringement matters involving metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor currently pending in the Eastern District of Texas and Northern District of California.
- Lead counsel for defendant Taiwanese gaming company in an patent infringement action in the District of Nevada. The cases was dismissed.
- Obtained numerous favorable settlements in patent cases involving cellular technology, semiconductors, microprocessors, DRAM and NAND flash memory architecture, computer systems, software, network technology, mobile devices, biotechnology, digital camera technology, internet technology, and medical devices.
- Represented several clients in the cellular telecommunications industry, including handset manufacturers and networks, involving cellular technology relating to bandwidth allocation and transporting packets with fragmentation, network security, and other products and services.
- Trial counsel for patent holder Eastman Kodak Company in an International Trade Commission investigation against two major technology companies relating to digital camera technology.
- Counsel for patent holder Eastman Kodak Company in a patent infringement action against Research In Motion Ltd. (now Blackberry) relating to digital camera technology in the Northern District of Texas.
- Lead counsel for internet-based home security company in a patent infringement matter involving smart home, internet of things, and security technology in the Western District of Texas.
- Represented Taiwan-based cellular handset company in patent infringement action relating to bandwidth allocation and transporting packets with fragmentation in the Eastern District of Texas.
- Represented an international wireless networking company in patent infringement action related to dual channel QPSK modulation, orthogonal complex spreading, orthogonal variable spreading, and random access to the reverse channel of a base station in CDMA in the Eastern District of Texas.
- Represented an automotive supplier in a patent litigation matter involving tire pressure monitoring systems in the District of Delaware.
- Served as district court and IPR counsel for a generic pharmaceutical company in an ANDA litigation in the District of Delaware.
- Trial counsel for patent holder in two large patent infringement litigations involving medical device technology in the Northern District of Illinois.
- Lead counsel for Taiwanese gaming company in an offensive patent infringement action in the Northern District of Illinois.
- Served as trial counsel in a patent infringement action involving tire pressure monitoring systems in the District of Delaware.
- Represented Taiwan-based cellular handset company in patent infringement action involving cellular communication technology related to tracking a remote radio-frequency transmitter and adaptive error-correction in the Middle District of Florida.
- Served as lead counsel to Taiwanese semiconductor company in a patent infringement matter involving DRAM in the Central District of California.
- Counsel for patent holder international wireless networking company in a patent infringement matter against competitors involving mobile hotspot technologies in the Southern District of California and the Northern District of California.
- Counsel for two wireless telecommunication carriers in a patent infringement action involving wireless network security in the District of Nebraska.
- Counsel for a software media company in a patent infringement action brought by a competitor involving addressable advertising in the District of Utah.
- Served as trial counsel for South Korean semiconductor manufacturer in a Section 337 Investigation relating to DRAM and NAND Flash products and involving patents directed to core memory technologies.
General
- Advises clients on intellectual property strategies, procurement, licensing negotiation, and litigation arising from patent, trade secret, copyright, trademark, unfair competition, and licensing disputes.
- Guides clients in all facets of patent litigation, including electronic discovery, expert discovery, motion practice, preliminary injunctions and temporary restraining orders, Markman briefing and hearings, summary judgment, post-trial motions, claim construction, focus studies, and trial.
- Represents clients in Section 337 investigations before the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) as well as inter partes review proceedings.
- Advises established companies and startup clients through all aspects of their patent portfolios from concept to inception and filing through patentability and landscape research, licensing, and litigation.
- Litigates cases before federal courts throughout the country, including the Northern District of Illinois, Northern, Eastern, Western and Southern Districts of Texas, the Northern District of California, Central District of California, Southern District of California, District of Delaware, Southern District of Indiana, Eastern District of Michigan, District of Massachusetts, District of Nebraska, and the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
Professional Involvement
- Intellectual Property Owners Association
- Adjunct Professor of Law, Patent Litigation, UNH Franklin Pierce School of Law
Clerkships
- Law Clerk to the Honorable Samuel Der-Yeghiayan, United States District Court (2006-2007)
- Judicial Extern to the Honorable Arthur J. Gajarsa, United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (2005)
Court Admissions
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
- U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern and Western Districts of Texas
Publications/Presentations
- Featured Speaker, Intellectual Property Infringement Risks Due to the Use of AI Tools, at the Seminar for Legal Risks and Start-up Strategies Planning with the Advent of Artificial Intelligence (Taiwan, 2023)
- Presenter, "Dickinson Wright & Gevers Academy," April 2022
- Featured Speaker, Claim Construction in the United States at the Intellectual Property Workshop and Seminar on the U.S. Patent Litigation Practice, sponsored by The Graduate Institute of Intellectual Property of National Taipei University of Technology and The Taiwan Patent Attorneys Association (Taiwan, 2021)
- Case Study: The Enlightenment of the Guangming Case to Taiwanese Companies’ Operations HP v. Quanta Storage – Takeaways for Taiwanese Companies, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology
- Article: Hewlett-Packard Co. v. Quanta Storage, Inc., China Times (Taiwan)
- Webinar: HP v. Quanta Storage – Takeaways for Taiwanese Companies
- “From Behind Closed Doors To The Steps Of The Federal Courthouse: The Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016”
- 2016 TechWeek Founders’ Roundtable Series; Presented: “Litigation - What To Do When You Get Sued” and “Trade Secrets: Intellectual Property & Founders’ Risks”
- 2014 Wisconsin Early Stage Symposium; Presented: “It’s more than patents: Protecting your IP”