Hill, Farrer & Burrill LLP

Attorney

Neil D. Martin

Of Counsel

Hill, Farrer & Burrill LLP
One California Plaza
300 So. Grand Avenue, 37th Floor
Los Angeles, California 90071-3147

  • (213) 620-0460 - General
  • (213) 624-4840 - Fax

Litigation partner and trial lawyer NEIL D. MARTIN has practiced law at Hill Farrer & Burrill for over 30 years. He specializes in intellectual property matters, professional liability matters which have an intellectual property component, and complex civil litigation.

Mr. Martin received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science degree from California State University, Chico, where he graduated with honors in 1977, and his Juris Doctorate from The University of Southern California School of Law in 1980. He has been recognized as a Southern California “Super Lawyer” and has an AV rating. He served as a CEB Panel speaker on “Trade Secrets Litigation in California: Current Issues and Cutting Edge Strategies”.

Business Contracts, Commercial, Fraud

Regularly handle general business litigation of all types, contract disputes, commercial real estate disputes, business related fraud.

Collection Activities for Seven Figure Judgments

High dollar collection activities for clients with seven figure judgments.

Lawyer's Liability Claims Intellectual Property

Robust practice in defense of lawyers in professional liability claims, particularly those with an intellectual property component.  Successful outcomes in jury trials, and arbitrations.

Trade Secret Employers

Handled well over 50 cases involving claims against employees who changed employment and were accused of taking confidential information of their former employer.  Have represented employers and employees in these cases which often involve seeking or resisting Temporary Restraining Orders and injunctions.  Many of these cases were resolved on summary judgment, and some resolved by trial.

Trademark TTAB Adversary Proceedings

Handled numerous adversary proceedings before the TTAB.

Copyright Infringement Injunctive Relief

Obtained injunctive relief, and ultimately favorable resolution of an action which accused a client’s competitor of copyright infringement in the format and layout of the structure of a searchable database, while at the same time obtaining summary judgment on the competitor’s antitrust counter-claim.

Copyright Violations Theft of Database

Obtained injunctive relief, and ultimately a favorable resolution of the action for a client in a case involving copyright violations incident to theft of database case. The parties had collaborated on a business venture which required sharing of data for a specific project.  We proved that following the project, the contracting party had retained and used our client’s data to fill in gaps in the contracting party’s database.

Intellectual Property Board of Patents

Successfully handled two 146 actions in District Court following decisions by the Board of Patent Interference, wrote the briefs and argued the appeal before the Federal Circuit Court of Appeal

Intellectual Property Commercial Patent

Obtained  summary judgment of literal infringement in favor of an inventor on a patent for a commercial product in wide use.

Intellectual Property Contract Breach

Obtained summary judgment in favor of client who was accused of infringement of a patent for a method of searching data, as well as summary judgment on related trade secret and breach of contract claims.

Trade Secret Misappropriation Complicity

Successfully defended two employees through a favorable jury verdict who were accused of complicity in a case involving misappropriation of trade secret paint formulas.

Trade Secrets Misappropriation

Tried to a jury a misappropriation of trade secrets claim involving the purported theft of an idea for a product.  After a hung jury, persuaded the trial court to award judgment as a matter of law, affirmed on appeal.

Trademark for Food Manufacturer

Successfully represented a manufacturer of halal foods in a challenge to its trademark.

Trademark Litigation Manufacturer

Representing a manufacturer of mystical candles in litigation in Federal Court to protect its trademarks.

Trademark Litigation Salsa Branding

Successfully represented a major producer of salsa in litigation to protect their thermometer trademark.