Google Inc. was in a tough spot. The company had been hit with patent infringement claims in the plaintiff-friendly Eastern District of Texas, by Function Media, LLC, a patent-holding company owned by husband and wife inventors from just down the road in Tyler. Function claimed Google’s AdSense advertising program infringed three patents related to creating and publishing customized electronic ads, and sought $600 million in damages.
Faced with litigation that threatened a major piece of its booming business model, the search giant knew where to turn: The litigators at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, specifically partner Charles Verhoeven. Says Google head of litigation Catherine Lacavera: “We have had some great victories working together with them.”
