Sullivan & Cromwell
Firm overview:
New York-headquartered Sullivan & Cromwell (S&C) is recognised as a major player in complex patent litigation and IP disputes in the US. Clients of the firm are nearly evenly split between US and non-US entities. The team’s trial experience and favourable dispute resolutions have attracted some well-known clients over the years, including Ocado, Columbia University, BlackBerry, Dolby International and Dyson. “We’ve been extremely pleased with their performance on patent litigation matters,” says a client.
The firm’s AI Practice, operating since May 2024, advised ChatGPT maker OpenAI in its multi-billion dollar partnership with Microsoft. S&C’s Intellectual Property & Technology Group has advised on the IP aspects of other high-value transactions, including Amgen in multi-billion dollar acquisitions, and Intel in connection with matters such as its worldwide patent cross-licence and settlement with Advanced Micro Devices.
Team overview:
Dustin Guzior, partner in the firm’s Litigation Group and co-head of the IP and Technology Litigation Practice, has had major trial wins in five different matters where he was first chair or co-lead counsel since 2022. These include a nine-figure jury trial win for Columbia University in a patent case and a complete defence win in a multibillion-euro ICC arbitration in Germany.
The firm benefits from the decades of experience of Andrei Iancu, former undersecretary of commerce for IP and director of the USPTO. Iancu, who co-heads the Intellectual Property and Technology Litigation Group, divides his time between the LA and Washington, DC offices and represents clients across all the major legal venues in the country. A peer describes him as a “prominent intellectual property lawyer”.
Key matters:
- Masimo v Apple
Dustin Guzior and Laurie Stempler were on the team, along with Knobbe Martens lawyers, that helped Masimo win a $634 million patent infringement jury verdict against Apple.
A California jury found that Apple had infringed on Masimo’s patent for a low-power pulse oximeter.
Clients:
Masimo
