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INDUSTRY FOCUS

Technology, Media, Entertainment, and
Telecommunications

Technological convergence enables the TMET sector to offer consumers a range of highly personalized user experiences via the growing power of the mobile platform. In an interconnected world, the Internet of Things gives business massive user data which—once accessed and assessed—helps deliver targeted communications with growing precision. The era of wasted marketing spend is being replaced by the promise of platforms that offer fascinating, highly personalized, one-on-one interaction. How consumers and regulators respond to this has yet to be crystalized. Ultimately, TMET's convergence will influence the content owners, who stand at the center of the distribution nexus and provide the compelling lure—the great stories that form the skeleton of games, movies, programs, characters, and sales.

Highlights of our
Client Successes

Global media company's US$9.1B entry into the competitive U.S. market

Our lawyers in London and New York advised JP Morgan and BNP Paribas on the financing of multinational cable and telecommunications company Altice's US$9.1B acquisition of cable operator Suddenlink. The deal marks Altice's entrance into the U.S. cable market. Our clients provided the US$6.7B of new and existing credit facilities and high-yield debt used to fund the acquisition.


Universal Studios teams with Chinese consortium to build US$4B theme park in Beijing

We represented Beijing Shouhuan Cultural Tourism Investment Co. Ltd., a Chinese state-owned consortium, on its joint venture with Universal Studios to build a US$4B movie- and television-based theme park in Beijing. Universal Studios Beijing will be Universal's largest theme park outside of the U.S. when it opens in 2019.


Security software leader wins industry-wide patent case

We represented Trend Micro, Inc. in a high-stakes patent infringement suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware. The plaintiff, Intellectual Ventures (IV), sought approximately US$150M in damages from our client. After forcing IV to drop two of the four asserted patents during the course of the litigation, we obtained summary judgment of invalidity on the remaining two patents based on lack of subject matter eligibility. We were able to avoid a costly trial and, in a case with hundreds of millions of dollars potentially on the line, our client walked away with a complete victory.


Advising three major media companies on the FCC's broadcast spectrum auction

We represented three leading media companies in the U.S. Federal Communication Commission's (FCC) landmark auction of broadcast spectrum. We advised our clients on the complex regulatory process for participation in the auction and structured first-of-their-kind "channel sharing" transactions between our clients and third parties. Our multidisciplinary advice encompassed regulatory, transactional, tax, and real estate issues.


Recognized in the FT's Innovative Lawyers report for our work advising OneWeb, builder of the world's largest satellite constellation

Case Study

Samsung's continued global growth

We continued to strengthen our relationship with Samsung, representing the global business leader in a range of transactions and litigation matters over the past year.

Highlights include advising our longtime client on establishing Samsung Pay,  its mobile payment system platform. We negotiated payment systems agreements with all of the major banks and credit card companies in the U.S. In addition, we represented Samsung Electronics and Samsung Fine Chemicals in a U.S. —registered secondary offering of shares of SunEdison Semiconductor Limited.

Our lawyers in Asia advised Hotel Shilla, the hospitality arm of the Samsung Group, on entering a broad strategic partnership with DFASS Group. Hotel Shilla will collaborate with DFASS to develop new and existing duty-free concessions, expand in-flight concession services, and strengthen its wholesale distribution business. The partnership will create a global leader in duty-free travel retail.

On the litigation front, we are helping our client resolve a number of significant IP disputes. We defended Samsung against litigation initiated by e-Watch in the Eastern District of Texas, where we invalidated half the asserted patents before successfully instituting inter partes review proceedings (IPRs) on the remaining patent, resulting in a very favorable settlement—a significant win in this plaintiff-friendly district. We also represented Samsung in an infringement suit brought by Mirror Worlds against Microsoft and several other tech companies. Our lawyers secured an indemnification from Microsoft, enabling our client to successfully extricate itself from the dispute.

We are also defending Samsung Electronics in a nine-patent case involving technology that allows mobile phones to play video. Our lawyers convinced the plaintiff to drop four of the patents in suit, after the Eastern District of Texas Court ruled on the scope of the patents. The validity of the remaining patents is being challenged before the Patent Office. In another closely watched case, we are defending our client in a dispute involving 14 patents directed to 3D memory structures.

Finally, we represented Samsung in IPRs challenging patents asserted against Samsung and defending its patents before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, including IPRs against nVidia. The dispute between Samsung and nVidia spans several pending litigations and involves six challenged patents related to display adapters and semiconductor technologies.