Craig Y. Allison

Partner

Craig Y. Allison, Ph.D. litigates technically complex patent and trade secret disputes before the federal district courts, the International Trade Commission and appellate courts. He also counsels high-tech companies on patent licensing negotiations, infringement allegations, and patent portfolio analysis.

Dr. Allison has been selected by Best Lawyers in America as a top lawyer in the area of Technology Law.

Selected Activities

  • Member, American Bar Association
  • Board Member, Silicon Valley Campaign for Legal Services

Representative Matters

  • Representing a major Silicon Valley semiconductor design company in patent licensing negotiations in relation to semiconductor devices.
  • High Point SARL v. Sprint (United States District Court, District of Kansas) Representing High Point in a patent infringement case involving cell phone infrastructure technology; coordinating and overseeing counsel in the Netherlands, Germany and Japan regarding patent infringement suits involving foreign equivalents of patents. Pending.
  • Acer Inc. v. Hewlett Packard Corp. (International Trade Commission; United States District Court, Western District of Wisconsin) Represented Acer in patent case involving integrated circuit technology simultaneously in district court and in the International Trade Commission. Settled.
  • Xiamen Overseas Chinese Electronics Company (XOCECO) Currently assisting XOCECO with several patent disputes involving television display technology.
  • Synopsys, Inc. v. Magma Design Automation (United States District Court, District of Delaware). Represented Synopsys in patent infringement case involving software for automatic design of integrated circuits. Settled after mediation.
  • Represented a large Japanese consumer electronics company in patent licensing negotiations regarding patents involving Wi-Fi and CDMA wireless technology.
  • Represented a large Japanese consumer electronics company in major licensing negotiations with a large U.S. technology company regarding patents in semiconductor, microprocessor, memory, and computer architecture fields. Favorable cross-licensing agreement achieved.
  • Calient Networks v. Glimmerglass Networks (United States District Court, Northern District of California). Represented plaintiff Calient in a patent infringement litigation involving optical switching technology. Settled after mediation.
  • Applera Corp. and Applied Biosystems Group v. Illumina, Inc. (United States District Court, Northern District of California). Represented Illumina in patent infringement case concerning DNA assay for analysis of single nucleotide polymorphisms. Settled after mediation.
  • inTEST Corp. v. Credence Systems Corp. (United States District Court, District of Delaware). Represented defendant Credence in patent litigation involving automatic test equipment for integrated circuits. Settled after mediation.
  • Biogen IDEC, Inc. v. GlaxoSmithKline, University of Michigan, Coulter Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Corixa Corporation (United States District Court, Southern District of California). Represented Biogen IDEC in patent infringement litigation regarding radioimmunotherapy for non-Hodgkins B-cell lymphoma. Negotiated settlement following summary judgment rulings.
  • Brown v. 3M Corporation (United States District Court, District of Arizona; Federal Circuit). Represented defendant 3M in patent litigation regarding Y2K computer software. Obtained summary judgment of invalidity and dismissal of case; obtained affirmance of decision by Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
  • Indivos Corp. v. Biometric Access Corp. (United States District Court, Northern District of California). Represented defendant Biometric Access Corporation in patent litigation involving biometric identification systems. Obtained denial of motion for preliminary injunction against client and grant of partial summary judgment of non-infringement. Settled.
  • Alcatel USA, Inc. v. Cisco Systems (United States District Court, Northern District of Texas). Represented Cisco in patent, trade secret, and copyright litigation involving optical cross-connect technology. Obtained dismissal with prejudice on patent claim and summary judgment on all other claims.
  • Intel Corporation v. First International Computer (United States District Court, Northern District of California). Represented Intel in patent case concerning microprocessors, graphics controllers, and BIOS updates. Settled.

Publications and Lectures

  • Publication: "What it Means to 'Entirely Vitiate' A Claim Element in Light of Warner-Jenkinson," Journal of the Patent and Trademark Office Society, Vol. 82, No. 8, 535 (August 2000)
  • Publication: Note, "Is a Copyright Co-Owner's Duty to Account Federal or State Law?" 90 Michigan Law Review 1998 (1992)
  • Publication: Book Note, 90 Michigan Law Review 1682 (1992) (reviewing Lea Brilmayer, "Conflict of Laws: Foundations & Future Directions" (1990))
  • Publication: Book Note, 89 Michigan Law Review 1610 (1991) (reviewing Rapheal Sealey, "Women and Law in Classical Greece" (1990))
  • Publication: Co-author, "Low Temperature Electrical Resistivity of Transition Metal Carbides," Solid State Communications 68, 387 (1998) (with C.B. Finch, M.D. Foegelle, and F.A. Modine)
  • Publication: Co-author, "Electron Microscopy of Electron Radiation Damage of Tantalum Carbide," Journal of Applied Physics 63, 1740 (1988) (with R.E. Stoller and E.A. Kenick)

Education

  • University of Michigan Law School, 1992, JD, magna cum laude, 1992, Order of the Coif, member of the Michigan Law Review
  • University of Illinois, 1982, PhD, Physics
  • Rice University, 1977, BA

Bar Admissions

  • California

Court Admissions

  • U.S. Supreme Court
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit
  • U.S. District Court, Northern, Central and Southern Districts of California
  • U.S. Patent and Trademark Office