Warren Braunig's practice focuses on complex commercial litigation, ranging from trade secrets and trademark law to consumer class actions and contract disputes. He has represented Impax Laboratories, Southern Wine & Spirits of America, and other individual and corporate clients.
Mr. Braunig was part of the team that won a trial victory for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company in one of the largest trade secrets cases in California history, resulting in a settlement for TSMC publicly valued at more than $300 million. Mr. Braunig has also represented individuals under investigation or indictment by the Department of Justice. He successfully argued an appeal of a civil contempt order before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, winning a complete reversal. He has represented individuals and businesses in federal and state courts throughout the United States.
Mr. Braunig also manages an active pro bono practice. He currently represents a consortium of environmental groups challenging the reauthorization of federal grazing permits in U.S. national forests. He has successfully represented indigent individuals in both criminal and immigration cases.
Cases of Note
Internet Company v. Google: An Internet company based in Lafayette, Louisiana filed suit in its local federal court against Google for trademark infringement and unfair competition. The plaintiff alleged Google's various uses of the term "gadget" infringed the federal trademarks "website gadget" and "gadget." We represented Google, and counterclaimed to cancel both marks as not protectable under either federal or Louisiana law because they are generic or at best descriptive and have not attained secondary meaning. The court agreed with us and granted summary judgment, canceling the marks and dismissing the lawsuit.
Plaintiffs v. Pharmaceutical Drug Co.: In a multi-district class action, plaintiffs have challenged a drug company's product label under California's unfair competition law and Consumer Legal Remedies Act. The case is currently pending.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company v. Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation: We represented the world’s leading semiconductor foundry, TSMC, against China’s leading semiconductor manufacturer, SMIC, in the largest trade secret misuse case ever tried. SMIC owed its existence to technology stolen from our client, and faced our damages claim of $2 billion, which would have exceeded SMIC's entire market value. The parties produced nearly 18 million pages of documents and conducted 266 days of deposition in the U.S. and in Asia. Following a jury verdict in favor of our client, SMIC agreed to pay $200 million in cash and approximately $130 million of its company stock. Ultimately TSMC's goal was to protect its intellectual property, not shut down its competitor, and so settled for far less than it could have recovered. For foreign companies that market their goods and services in the U.S., this case established that California’s trade secret statute will protect the intellectual property essential to those goods and services, even if the theft occurred in Asia.
United States v. Attorney: We represented a nationally-known Mississippi trial attorney in multiple federal criminal cases alleging judicial bribery and honest services fraud. Our client received favorable plea agreements.
State of California v. Defendant: We represented an indigent woman wrongly arrested on DUI and reckless driving charges. After uncovering proof of police misconduct during the investigation, as well as undisclosed evidence of factual innocence, we won the suppression of most of the evidence against her. All charges were dropped.
Awards and Honors
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Team Winner and Best Oralist, Marden Moot Court Competition, 2005
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Order of the Coif, New York University, 2005
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Phi Beta Kappa, Yale University, 1997
Publications
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“Reflexive Law Solutions to Factory Farm Pollution,” New York University Law Review, 2005
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Co-inventor of software patents, U.S. 7,302,431, and U.S. 7,139,757