Profile
Brent D. Sokol has more than 25 years of experience representing medical device and biotechnology companies, broadcasters, new media technology companies, consumer products companies, and others in patent, copyright, trademark, trade secret, contract, tortious interference and Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)/piracy claims. Brent litigates complex intellectual property and related contract and tort disputes, including those involving multiple forums and forms of intellectual property. As a former biomedical engineer and a registered patent attorney for nearly three decades, Brent has argued to jury and judge alike with a mastery of complex facts and law that he conveys with clarity and conviction. Brent is also an acknowledged leader and national speaker about the global restructurings of a company’s intellectual property, and in particular the rights of companies and their lenders with respect to such restructurings.
Concentrations
- Medical device and biotechnology patent and related contract and inventorship litigation
- Global restructuring of trademark and other intellectual property rights in distressed situations and post-merger/acquisition
- Trademark, design patent and trade dress litigation
- Authorship/inventorship/ownership disputes
- Copyright infringement and DMCA litigation
Capabilities
Experience
- Fate Therapeutics, Inc. v. Shoreline Biosciences, Inc. et al.: Representing Fate Therapeutics in San Diego Superior Court in connection with Fate’s tortious interference claims over Shoreline’s engagement of its scientific advisor.
- Representation of Entravision Communications Corporation in defense of copyright infringement claims brought by Global Music Rights, LLC and in Entravision’s antitrust counterclaims.°
- Representation of J. Crew’s secured note holders in New York State Supreme Court in opposition to the $380 million dollar global restructuring of its collateralized trademarks.°
- Obtained the third largest DMCA case judgment on record — a $65 million award and global seizure order on behalf of the subsidiaries of the three largest Korean broadcasters against a 5,000 employee Chinese corporate operator of a global OTT piracy network.°
- Representation of a private equity-backed medical device innovator firm in its medical device patent litigation strategy and $800 million acquisition by a leading medical device company.°
- Represented motion picture producers against claims of tortious interference brought by MGM in connection with right of first offer for copyrighted autobiographical work by Jake LaMotta.°
- Represented Mag Instrument, Inc. in trade dress infringement action against maker of flashlights .°
- Defended Milliken & Company, a leading flooring company, against trademark infringement claims and defeated a motion for preliminary injunction which lead to award of attorneys’ fees for client.°
- Brought trademark and copyright preliminary injunction action on behalf of leading Korean language network Munhwa Broadcasting Corp against food producer Solafide, Inc over brand based on famous historical drama. °
- Represented major cancer research hospital regarding patent inventorship of certain chimeric antigen receptors (“CARs”) used in cancer treatments. °
- Represented a clinical stage biotechnology company concerning inventorship of its investigational biopharmaceutical drug.°
- Member of team that represented defendant and counterclaimant, Calgene, the manufacturer of Flavr-Savr genetically modified tomatoes, in initial patent infringement action and unfair competition claims.°
- Genpharm v. Cell Genesys: Represented patentee in ownership and trade secret dispute.°
- Origin Medsystems, Inc. v. General Surgical Innovations, Inc. Developed evidence for and authored summary judgment motion resulting in defense verdict of inequitable conduct and seven figure attorneys’ fees award in medical device case. °
- General Surgical Innovations, Inc. v. Origin Medsystems Inc. Argued to jury in surgical instruments patent case resulting in 39 million dollar jury damages award for client. °
°The above representations were handled by Mr. Sokol prior to his joining Greenberg Traurig, LLP.
Recognition & Leadership
- Listed, LMG Life Sciences, "Life Science Star," 2021-2024
- Selected, Euromoney Legal Media Group, “Life Sciences Star -Patent Litigation,” 2012-2020
- Selected, Managing Intellectual Property, “IP Star,” 2015-2024
- Patent, 2015-2024
- Trademark,2020-2024
- Copyright, 2020-2024
- Recipient, L.A. County Commission on Human Relations, “John Anson Ford Award for Intellectual Property Litigation (Corporate award for beneficially impacting human relations in Los Angeles County”
- National Commissioner, Anti-Defamation League
- Co-Chair of ADL Civil Rights Committee, Los Angeles Region
- Los Angeles Regional Board Member
- Former Regional Co-Chair, ADL Summer Associate Legal Research Program
Credentials
Education
- J.D., cum laude, Boston University School of Law, 1993
- B.S., Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, 1987
Admissions
- California
- U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
- U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit