• Patents
• Trademarks
• Copyrights
• Internet Law
• Technology Law
• Entertainment Law
• Computer Law
• Unfair Competition
• Trade Secrets
• Litigation

GARY HECKER is one of the nations leading intellectual property attorneys. He is recognized for his diverse experience in all aspects of intellectual property law, including patents, internet and technology law, trademarks, copyrights, entertainment, and unfair competition. His practice includes complex litigation, patent and trademark prosecution, high level advising, intellectual property program development, and legal transactions.

INTERNET LAW:

Gary represents many high profile internet companies as well as new venture startups. His work includes establishing intellectual property portfolios for those companies. Among his areas of practice in internet law are:

1. E-commerce and business method patents;
2. Domain name protection and enforcement;
3. Domain name dispute resolution;
4. Emerging internet issues including copyright, trademark, privacy, databases, defamation and disparagement, and piracy.

PATENT LAW:

Gary represents many of the nations leading technology companies in patent law. He has created and implemented patent programs for Fortune 500 companies, Silicon Valley technology pioneers, and new technology startups. He has been involved in protecting computer software and hardware with patents from the early days of the personal computer. His practice areas in patent law include:

1. Identifying inventions for possible patenting;
2. Preparing and prosecuting patent applications before the United States Patent and Trademark Office;
3. Establishing patent programs tailored to maximize protection for the inventions and innovations of his clients;
4. Performing patent infringement studies to determine if a company is infringing a patent;
5. Performing patent validity studies to determine if a patent can be invalidated or rendered unenforceable;
6. Evaluating inventions to determine whether they are patentable;
7. Performing patent novelty searches and rendering patent novelty opinions;
8. Initiating patent infringement litigation in federal court as counsel for patent owner;
9. Defending accused patent infringers in federal patent litigation;
10. Negotiating licenses and technology transfers and preparing patent license agreements;
11. Patent reexamination proceedings and interferences.

ENTERTAINMENT LAW:

Gary represents both companies and artists in various aspects of entertainment law. His areas of practice include:

1. Unlawful use of name and likeness;
2. Disparagement and defamation;
3. Transactions and agreements for actors, writers, producers and directors;
4. Internet protection and enforcement, including issues relating to use of celebrity images and internet fan clubs;
5. Copyright protection;
6. Trademark protection and domain names, including programs to enhance the enforceability of an artist's name and image and to derive revenue from it;
7. Computer animation and computer graphics, including patents, trademarks and copyrights to protect computer animation and its underlying technology.

TRADEMARKS:

Gary represents companies large and small as trademark counsel to obtain and enforce trademark rights. His experience in this area of practice encompasses a wide range of products and technologies, including software, e-commerce, hotels and resorts, clothing, toys and games, and merchandising, to name o few. His work in this area includes:

1. Obtaining federal and state trademark registrations;
2. Trademark applications;
3. United States Trademark Office prosecution;
4. Trademark oppositions and cancellations;
5. Trademark license agreements;
6. Federal and State trademark litigation;
7. Trademark searches and opinions on trademark availability;
8. Internet trademark protection and domain name protection and issues affecting trademark rights;
9. Trademark policing and enforcement;
10. Trademark portfolio management;
11. International trademark protection.

COPYRIGHTS:

Gary has been obtained and enforced copyrights since the advent of copyright protection for computer software. He participated as counsel in the first cases that successfully established the copyrightability of computer programs. He was instrumental in facilitating the first criminal convictions for piracy of copyrighted computer programs. He was lead co-counsel in the first legal actions before the International Trade Commission involving copyrighted software and counterfeit personal computers, and established precedent to successfully stop that practice.

He testified before the United States Congress on copyright infringement of computer programs and unfair foreign trade practices. He was counsel for leading graphical user interface companies to protect their user interfaces using copyright laws. He also practices in more traditional, as well as emerging, areas of copyright, including art, music, entertainment, and the internet. Among his practice areas in copyright are:

1. Copyright registration;
2. Copyright protection strategies;
3. Copyright infringement litigation;
4. Copyright enforcement, policing and clearance;
5. Emerging issues in copyright including databases, internet technologies and electronic commerce;
6. Entertainment copyright related issues.

PATENT EVALUATIONS:

Gary has performed innumerable successful patent evaluation. Those evaluations on patent infringement and validity have frequently led to claimants withdrawing or abandoning their claims entirely. Strategies such as targeted prior art investigation, patent reexamination, and uncovering inequitable conduct have contributed to this success.

3. Transaction Samples

LITIGATION

Gary has successfully litigated numerous cases in intellectual property. He serves as both plaintiff and defense counsel in actions involving patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, unfair competition, plaint variety protection, and other claims. A representative sample of the cases Gary has litigated include:

1. He represented the worlds leading network software maker in a multibillion-dollar claim for patent infringement involving client-server computing software. The case was litigated in the U.S. District Court for The Northern District of California. The case involved extensive deposition and discovery practice and hundreds of thousands of pages of document discovery. His representation resulted in the favorable ruling for his client that the patent is invalid and therefore, unenforceable.
2. He represented one of the world's leading vegetable and produce companies as plaintiff's counsel in multiple actions involving pirated vegetable varieties protected under the Plant Variety Protection Act. He implemented complex anticounterfeiting investigations and implemented the first use of direct DNA testing in this context. The cases were litigated in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. He obtained favorable settlements in each of those actions.
3. He represented a preeminent computer manufacturer as plaintiff's counsel in antipiracy litigation in various jurisdictions, before the International Trade Commission, and before the U.S. Customs Service, which stemmed the tide of counterfeit software and computers.
4. He represented a leading data processing company as defense counsel against a State University. The case was litigated in the Southern District of New York. He filed a declaratory judgement against the University, and resolved the case favorably for his client following a successful battle over jurisdiction.
5. He represented the worlds leading internet portal maker as defense counsel in its first patent infringement action. The case was filed in U.S. District Court in Dade County, Florida. He obtained a favorable settlement for his client after filing counterclaims for RICO, patent invalidity and non-infringment.
6. He represented a leading computer animation company as plaintiff's counsel in trademark infringement litigation filed in two countries, resulting in successfully enjoining the use of the trademark by the accused company.
7. He represented a leading semiconductor manufacturer as plaintiff's counsel in multiple patent infringement actions involving semiconductor circuits for disc drives. The case was litigated in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. He obtained favorable settlements for his client in each of those patent infringement actions.
8. He represented the manufacturer of the most popular toy doll of its time in trademark, trade dress and copyright infringement in federal court against many different defendants. This collection of cases involved "grey market" actions as well. The cases resulted in various injunctions and settlements favorable to the client.
9. He currently represents a leading software manufacturer as defense counsel in patent infringement litigation involving disc drive partitioning. The case is pending in the United States District Court in the District of Utah.
10. He currently represents a leading provider of software for the apparel industry as plaintiff's counsel in copyright infringement litigation. The case is pending in the United States District Court in the Central District of California.
11. He currently represents a manufacturer of automotive connectors as defense counsel in patent infringement litigation involving electrical connectors pending in U.S. District Court in the Central District of California.
12. He currently represents various companies in trademark infringement matters and oppositions.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY:

As part of his philosophy of helping companies to develop valuable patent portfolios, Gary has developed his own unique approach and copyrighted materials tailored to individual client needs for establishing and "driving" corporate patent programs. Gary has established intellectual property programs for many well-known companies. Among them, he:

1. Established a patent program for the worlds leading data base management software company;
2. Established a patent program (including onsite implementation days where he would meet with inventors and management), at an award-winning manufacturer of personal computers;
3. Established a patent program at a leading manufacturer of application specific integrated circuits;
4. Established trademark programs and managed trademark portfolios for many companies in diverse product areas from clothing to software, and from hotels to entertainment.

4. Selected Lectures And Publications

"Law & Technology in Transition," American Conference Institute, San Francisco

"On-Line Law: Emerging Legal & Business Issues," San Francisco

"Copyright, New Technology and New Media," Los Angeles

"On-Line and Internet Law Seminar," San Francisco

Moderator, Hastings College of Law, High Technology Law Symposium Author

:"Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion on the High Sears: Toward an International Regulatory Regime, "San Diego Law Review, Vol. 18:2, 1981

Advisor, Hastings College of Law Journal

Technical Advisor, U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, Committee on Energy and Commerce, Investigation on Unfair Foreign Trade Practices; 1988

• American Bar Association (Member, Section of Patent, Trademark and Copyright Law)
• State Bar of California
• The Association of Trial Lawyers of America
• The American Society of Mechanical Engineers

• University of San Diego (J.D., 1981)
• Member, San Diego Law Review, 1979-1981
• Judicial Intern, California Court of Appears, 4th District, 1981
• University of Rhode Island (B.S.M.E., 1977) Pi Tau Sigma Engineering Honor Society

Admission:

• State Bar of California
• U.S. District Court, Central District of California
• U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
• Registered Patent Attorney, United States Patent and Trademark Office