Adam Kenji Richards

Representative Highlights

Intellectual Property Litigation

• Represented outdoor clothing company in federal court trademark infringement lawsuits and in TTAB proceedings opposing trademark applications; defeated defendants’ motions for summary judgment as to trademark-infringement claims in two separate cases; successfully opposed applications for marks to be used with bicycles and portable coolers.
• Represented industry-leading food thermometer company in federal court trademark and trade-dress infringement lawsuit against competitor; defeated the defendants’ motion to dismiss and motion for summary judgment.
• Represented federal credit union in federal court trademark infringement lawsuit against competing credit union that had recently rebranded to a new name.
• Defended supply-chain software company in federal court case against claims of patent infringement and trade secret misappropriation brought by significantly larger competitor; successfully petitioned the PTAB to institute inter partes review of the asserted patent.
• Defended pharmaceutical company in federal court case against claims of trademark infringement brought by competitor.
• Defended filmmaker in federal court case against claims of breach of contract and misappropriation of name and likeliness.
• Defended art company in federal court case brought by photographer alleging copyright infringement.
• Defended cosmetic surgeon in trademark cancellation proceeding before the TTAB; defeated motion for summary judgment that argued client’s registered mark was generic and descriptive.
• Defended start-up business intelligence software company against claims of patent and trade dress infringement brought by larger competitor and obtained dismissal of all claims. See Domo, Inc. v. Grow, Inc., 2018 WL 2172937 (D. Utah May 10, 2018).
• Defended industry-leading automotive custom tuning company in claims of copyright infringement and trade secret theft brought by a competitor based on alleged use of trade- secret software and copyrighted software code.
• Represented publicly traded business leadership and management training company in asserting claims of copyright infringement based on defendant’s alleged use of copyrighted materials in internal training materials.
• Represented clients in appeals to the Federal Circuit addressing patent infringement and invalidity issues.

Commercial Litigation

• Defended fencing company against breach-of-contract and fraud claims; obtained dismissal of all claims on a motion to dismiss.
• Represented leading experience-management software company in asserting non- competition and non-solicitation claims against former employees.
• Defended cell phone accessories company against claims alleging breach of an asset purchase agreement; obtained dismissal of most claims on a motion to dismiss. See Cohen v. Wrapsol Acquisition, LLC, 177 F. Supp. 3d 1373 (D. Utah 2016).
• Represented defendant directors of bank holding company in appeal to the Tenth Circuit; obtained affirmance of district court’s dismissal of breach-of-fiduciary-duty claims. See Barnes v. Harris, 783 F.3d 1185 (10th Cir. 2015).
• Defended soft pretzel chain in federal court against section 1 and 2 claims brought by competitor; successfully obtained dismissal of all claims on a motion to dismiss.
• Represented major trucking company in a nationwide class-action lawsuit brought in federal court by former independent contractor drivers asserting claims of fraud and breach of state consumer-protection statutes; obtained dismissal of civil RICO claims.
• Defended insurance company in a breach-of-contract case brought by client’s claim management company; successfully moved for summary judgment on all claims. See Tristar Risk Mgmt. v. Am. Liberty Ins. Co., 2017 WL 3835684 (D. Utah Aug. 31, 2017).
• Represented client pro bono in successfully setting aside a default paternity judgment from over 15 years prior.