Hunter Keeton

Overview

Hunter Keeton focuses his practice on litigation in the areas of patent, trademark, trade dress, copyright, domain name disputes, and internet cases. He has extensive experience representing clients in federal district court and state court, and before the International Trade Commission (ITC). Several times after securing complete victory for clients at the lower court level, Hunter was the primary drafter on appeals briefs to the Federal Circuit that led to full affirmances. He has also worked on a number of inter partes reviews (IPRs), reexaminations, and post-grant matters, while ensuring that those strategies also complement the litigation strategy. 

Hunter served as a writer and editor for various student newsletters and as a senior editor on the Harvard International Law Journal. After graduating from law school, Hunter clerked for the Honorable Judith A. Cowin, Associate Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, working primarily on issues of state law and providing assistance on petitions for further appellate review.

Prior to joining Wolf Greenfield, Hunter worked as a summer associate at a Providence, Rhode Island firm and served as a Senate Intern for Senator Paul S. Sarbanes (DMD).

Experience

ITC Experience

• Day-to-day lead representing Sony in first ITC action of world-wide patent war with Fujifilm over digital data storage tape technology. Certain Magnetic Data Storage Tapes and Cartridges Containing the Same, 337-TA-1012. Handled substantive issues and discovery disputes relating to six asserted patents over life of investigation. Took and defended multiple fact and expert depositions, including in Japan. Presented and cross-examined fact and expert witnesses at trial. Achieved complete victory on all but one patent before ITC. Case settled favorably during appeal.
• Represented Sony in second defensive ITC action in world-wide patent war with Fujifilm over digital data storage tape technology. Certain Magnetic Data Storage Tapes and Cartridges Containing the Same, 337-TA-1076. Took and defended multiple fact and expert depositions, and presented and cross-examined witnesses at trial. Dispute settled favorably.
• Represented Sony in offensive ITC actions against Fujifilm. Certain Magnetic Tape Cartridges and Components Thereof, 337-TA-1036, -1058. Cases settled favorably.
• Represented Amphenol in five-patent ITC investigation against Chinese competitor Luxshare relating to high-speed electrical connectors for server farms. Certain Electrical Connectors and Cages, Components, And Products Containing the Same, 337-TA-1241. Ran offensive discovery, including deposing multiple witnesses and presenting witnesses at trial.

District Court Experience

• Day-to-day lead in trade secret and contract dispute on behalf of Acacia Communications against its former vendor ViaSat, relating to forward error correction for high-speed network communications. Deposed and defended depositions of many fact and expert witnesses, and presented and cross-examined them at trial in California state court. ViaSat had sought hundreds of millions of dollars in trade secret damages from our client, but jury awarded a single dollar.
• Represented Serverside Group in multiple patent litigations against competitors in the customized financial transaction card field. Cases resulted in multiple favorable settlements, including ongoing royalty payments and agreement by one competitor to  exit the field entirely.
• Represented leading provider of customized picture card services in multiple patent litigations against rest of industry, which resulted in settlements where rest of industry took licenses.
• Represented on­line data storage company that was sued on patent. Case settled favorably with our client being paid confidential sum to drop its counterclaims.
• Successfully defended Keurig Green Mountain, Inc. and Keurig, Incorporated in patent infringement action brought by Teashot, LLC in the District of Colorado. The judge granted summary judgment of non­infringement, an across ­the ­board win. Teashot had been seeking multiple millions of dollars in damages and an injunction.
• Primary associate on case representing maker of after ­market  ink sticks for solid ink printers in patent suit brought by manufacturer of printers.
• Assisted footwear and clothing company in trademark litigation that settled with client securing rights to opposing party’s use of disputed mark.
• Assisted in pro bono free speech case brought by conference speaker against Massachusetts Department of Education; case won on summary judgment, as well as award of fees and costs.
• Represented furniture fabric house that sued furniture manufacturers and sellers for infringement of copyrighted design; case settled favorably for confidential sum.
• Assisted in patent case brought by mutual fund compliance information provider against its competitors.
• Primary associate in trademark and trade dress litigations on behalf of major picture frame company.
• Lead associate in Bern v. Burton, where Burton succeeded in defeating Bern’s trade dress claims on summary judgment by demonstrating that Bern had failed to show that consumers  recognized its helmet shape as coming from Bern.

Appeals

• Primary drafter of three appeals briefs to the Federal Circuit, where other side appealed decisions favoring our clients below. All three appeals resulted in complete affirmances in favor of our clients.

Post-Grant Work

• Drafted several IPR petitions for Google relating to CAPTCHA technology. Two led to favorable settlements for Google; one to helpful non-infringement claim construction; others still pending.
• Drafter on multiple inter partes reexamination petitions.

Other

• Drafted UDRP and related complaints on behalf of clients that  have resulted in transfer of domain names.
• Assisted in drafting opinion of counsel letters.
• Assisted in arbitration decisions over transfer of domain names under Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP).
• Handled multiple Department of Unemployment Assistance  (DUA) appeals.

Activities

• Boston Intellectual Property Law Association
• American Bar Association
• International Game Developers Association
• Boston Post Mortem (computer and video game developers group)

Recognition

• Repeatedly named one of Massachusetts Super Lawyers’ “Rising Stars” in the field of intellectual property litigation
• Phi Beta Kappa