RJ Zayed

Intellectual Property

RJ’s experience includes counseling, investigating, developing, asserting, and defending patents, copyrights, trademarks and trade secret claims for many Fortune 500 companies including manufacturers and providers of medical devices, pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, healthcare services, semiconductors, software products, electronic products, wireless communications and systems, precision tooling, fertilizers, paints, and chemicals.

RJ’s technical and patent attorney background has enabled him to handle matters involving the design and operation of computers, wireless devices and telecommunications systems and protocols, electronic consumer products, electronic control systems, Coriolis flowmeters, encryption devices, memory devices, digital and analog circuitry, electrical transmission, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals and nutritional supplements, multi-modal polymers, adhesives, composites, and electrical, chemical, and mechanical processes.

Prior to law school, RJ worked seven years as a hardware and software design engineer for Honeywell, Inc., designing microprocessor-based instrumentation and digital and analog circuitry for environmental control systems used in commercial buildings and complexes. He received the Honeywell Technical Excellence Award for his design of software and hardware-controlled memory device and circuit board testing system.

RJ has successfully led numerous trade secret misappropriation, patent and trademark litigation matters in the following areas, among others:

• Defending a $4 billion misappropriation of trade secrets case involving systematic mathematical investment models which settled favorably after plaintiff was ordered to provide a detailed and specific description of the alleged trade secrets.
  
• Prosecuting a $40 million misappropriation of trade secrets case involving mining processes which settled favorably on the eve of trial.
  
• Defending a $60 million patent infringement case involving atrial septal occluder devices and obtaining summary judgments of unenforceability as to the first asserted patent, non-infringement as to the second asserted patent and invalidity as to third asserted patent with all three judgments being affirmed on appeal.
  
• Prosecuting a $27 million patent infringement case involving cardiovascular stents to jury verdict and prevailing on appeal.
  
• Prosecuting a $100 million misappropriation of trade secrets case involving paint formulas and presenting results of an internal investigation to federal authorities which resulted in former director of research being charged, convicted and sentenced to 57 months in federal prison. 
  
• Prosecuting a $50 million patent infringement case involving a method and device for determining the effectiveness of heat-based sterilization procedures employed in laboratories which settled favorably on the eve of trial.
  
• Defending a $750 million misappropriation of trade secrets case involving semiconductor manufacturing.
  
• Defending a $130 million trafficking in counterfeit goods federal investigation involving water filters and obtaining declination.
  
• Defending a multi-million trademark infringement and trademark counterfeiting case involving tactical flashlights which settled favorably during court ordered mediation. 
  
• Prosecuting $75 million patent infringement case involving embossed webs useful as liners for pressure sensitive adhesives used in commercial graphics, which settled favorably on the eve of trial after obtaining reversal of the trial court’s claim construction.
  
• Prosecuting $80 million patent infringement case involving disposable respirators with exhalation valves, obtaining summary judgment on defendant's counterclaim of patent unenforceability and settling favorably thereafter.
  
• Prosecuting a number of patent infringement cases and ITC proceedings in connection with patents involving interactive program guides with all cases settling favorably after years of litigation.
  
• Defending a $45 million patent infringement case involving coriolis flow meters and prosecuting a claim for attempted monopolization antitrust violations which settled favorably at the end of discovery.
  
• Defending and prosecuting multiple multi-million patent infringement cases involving dynamic random access memory devices which all settled favorably at the end of discovery.
  
• Defending and obtaining dismissal of all charges in a federal indictment alleging misappropriation of trade secrets and false statements involving large software system for administrating state unemployment insurance benefits.
  
   

Government Enforcement and Corporate Investigations

RJ’s government enforcement background includes extensive experience in investigating, prosecuting, and defending complex federal investigations and actions. As an Assistant United States Attorney, RJ led the investigation and prosecution of hundreds of criminal cases, including economic espionage; theft of trade secrets; criminal copyright and trademark cases; multi-defendant international drug-trafficking and money laundering conspiracies; bribery and corruption; fraud (bank, computer, healthcare, mail, securities, tax and wire fraud); aggravated identity theft; conspiracies to defraud the United States; false statements and claims; violent crimes; firearm offenses; and environmental crimes (including some of the largest criminal fines in the history of Minnesota).

Since returning to private practice, RJ has defended and tried white-collar and multi-defendant international drug trafficking and money laundering cases. RJ has also successfully represented numerous corporate clients and state and private universities in government enforcement actions and in internal investigations, involving:

• Bribery, corrupt practices and fraudulent schemes (including alleged FCPA violations, corrupt practices and fraudulent schemes in Brazil, China, Colombia, Cyprus, Egypt, France, Jordan, Malaysia, Panama, Qatar, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom);
  
• Economic espionage;
  
• Trade secret misappropriation;
  
• Patents and inventions;
  
• Federal research grants;
  
• False statements and claims;
  
• Trafficking in counterfeit goods;
  
• Import and export violations;
  
• Criminal environmental violations;
  
• Fraud (bank, computer, healthcare, mail, securities, tax, and wire);
  
• Adulterated and misbranded drugs and medical devices; and
  
• Off-label promotion
  
• Defending $350 million ERISA healthcare case and prosecuting a $50 million healthcare fraud and conspiracy counterclaim case
  
• Defending $150 million False Claims Act case and obtaining governmental declination, dismissal of FCA claims and jury verdict of no retaliatory discharge in the manufacturing of aluminum curtain wall windows for commercial and governmental buildings
  
• Conducting extensive internal investigations for national public universities involving allegations of faculty misconduct, false claims, and misappropriation of intellectual property
  
• Conducting extensive internal investigations for national and international corporations involving allegations of bribery and public corruption
  
• Representing senior corporate executives against allegations of internal and external misconduct.

RJ has also represented non-English speaking clients whose native languages are Arabic and Spanish in criminal and civil matters in federal court.

RJ was the court-appointed Receiver in the SEC v. Cook, et. al, Case No. 09-cv-3333, CFTC v. Cook, et. al, Case No. 09-cv-3332, and SEC v. Beckman, et. al, Case No. 11-cv-574 (D. Minn.) cases involving a $194 million Ponzi scheme with hundreds of vulnerable victims.