Our Team
Kevin C. Menes
Associate
Phone: (510) 879-3439
Fax: (510) 628-2146
Email: kevin.menes@mhllp.com
Office Location: Oakland
Kevin Menes joins McDowell Hetherington’s litigation practice with extensive experience handling intellectual property and other commercial litigation matters in state and federal courts, as well as U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) investigations, involving a wide range of technologies including thin film transistor liquid crystal displays, mobile operating systems, computer-aided design, and connected home devices.
Prior to joining McDowell Hetherington, Mr. Menes practiced at White & Case LLP, a leading international law firm. Mr. Menes was an integral member of multiple trial teams at White & Case, with experience in all aspects of civil litigation. His ability to quickly internalize and convert technical information into digestible, convincing arguments for judges resulted in numerous successful outcomes for clients like Google, Nest, and Autodesk. He has drafted and filed all forms of pleadings, motions, and briefs in ITC investigations, federal district court trials, and Federal Circuit appeals. He has also taken and defended the depositions of fact, expert, and 30(b)(6) witnesses, including founders and executives.
Outside the office, Kevin enjoys open water swimming in the San Francisco Bay and Lake Tahoe. Along with his fiancé and two dogs, Kevin also loves exploring remote areas of California in search of collectible mineral specimens.
REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS
- Represented Google subsidiary Nest Labs, Inc. in a patent infringement action involving smart thermostat technology in the Eastern District of Texas (Allure Energy, Inc. v. Nest Labs, Inc.).
- Represented Nest Labs, Inc. in a patent infringement action filed in the Northern District of Illinois by BRK Brands. BRK alleged that Nest infringed six patents through its offering of the Nest Protect combination smoke and carbon monoxide detector (BRK Brands, Inc. v. Nest Labs, Inc.).
- Represented Google as Intervenor in Section 337 Investigation based on a complaint filed by Nokia against HTC. Four of five patents on which Google intervened were terminated and a determination of non-infringement issued as to the fifth patent (In the Matter of Certain Electronic Devices, Including Mobile Phones and Tablet Computers, and Components Thereof).
- Obtained findings of non-infringement or invalidity as to all five asserted patents on behalf of Respondents Chimei InnoLux, InnoLux, and Chi Mei Optoelectronics USA (“CMI”) in Section 337 Investigation involving LCD products, confirmed by Commission (In the Matter of Certain Liquid Crystal Display Devices, Including Monitors, Televisions, and Modules, and Components Thereof).
- Represented intervenor CMI opposite Thomson’s appeal of the ITC’s findings for two of five patents asserted in In the Matter of Certain Liquid Crystal Display Devices, Including Monitors, Televisions, and Modules, and Components Thereof. The Federal Circuit upheld the Commission’s Final Determination providing a complete victory for the client (Thomson Licensing SAS, and Thomson Licensing, LLC v. ITC.).
- Represented Taiwanese semiconductor firm MediaTek in patent infringement action related to power management (Semcon IP Inc. v. MediaTek Inc. et al.).
ADMISSIONS
- State Bar of California. Active Member 2010-Present
- US District Court for the Northern District of California
- US District Court for the Southern District of California
EDUCATION
- University of California, Hastings College of the Law, J.D. cum laude, 2010
- California State University, [Chico] B.A. Political Science with Highest Distinction, 2006
