Akin Gump Secures Win on Behalf of Sorenson Communications in Seven-Year Patent Battle over Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing

(Washington, D.C.) – A team from Akin Gump won a significant victory before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on behalf of Sorenson Communications in nine consolidated appeals. These appeals are part of a multi-front battle between Sorenson’s CaptionCall business and its primary competitor, Ultratec, Inc.

The lead case, Ultratec Inc. v. CaptionCall LLC, which has an extensive history dating back to 2013, concerns eight “crown jewel” Ultratec patents directed to telecommunications for the deaf or hard of hearing. On October 14, a three-judge panel unanimously affirmed the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s (PTAB) 2019 decisions invalidating the patents asserted by Ultratec against CaptionCall. The Federal Circuit’s affirmances in Sorenson’s favor end the lead case that started the seven-year battle between two competitors in the captioned telephone market.

Pratik Shah, co-head of Akin Gump’s Supreme Court and appellate practice, led the appellate team and argued the cases. He was assisted by Supreme Court and appellate partner Julius Chen and intellectual property partner Rachel Elsby and counsel Caitlin Olwell.

This case is a part of a stream of related cases pending before the federal district court, the PTAB and the Federal Circuit. Other Akin Gump team members include:

• Intellectual property partner Rubén Muñoz and Ms. Olwell, who led the related efforts before the PTAB.
• Supreme Court and appellate partner James Tysse, IP counsel Jason Weil and associate Rachel Bayefsky, who assisted with oral argument preparations.
• IP partner Michael Kahn and counsel Michael Petegorsky, who led the co-pending efforts before the district court and follow-on matters before the PTAB.

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP is a leading international law firm with more than 900 lawyers and advisors in offices throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Founded in 1945, the firm is proudly celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2020. #AkinGump75

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