Marc N. Bernstein

A commercial and IP litigator for over 30 years, Marc Bernstein couples strategic thinking with powerful advocacy to achieve exceptional results

PARTNER AND FOUNDER

Companies and individuals turn to Marc when facing complex, high-stakes disputes that require deep understanding and skill to unravel and resolve, including cases involving patent and copyright infringement, trade secret misappropriation, unfair competition, and breach of contract, often against a technological backdrop. Drawing on deep strategic insight, creative problem-solving, unusual tenacity, and decades of experience, Marc has frequently achieved great outcomes.

Since training at Morrison & Foerster early in his career, Marc’s practice has focused on both intellectual property and non-IP commercial cases. He led the team at Bayla that waged a six-year case against Princeton and Meta alleging scraping and use of AI training data, and has litigated a wide range of patent infringement cases for such technologies as computer security systems, medical, mechanical, and electronic devices, and polymer chemistry. Marc is a skilled communicator who enjoys expressing complex legal and technical concepts in simple, compelling language.

Marc is also a skilled negotiator and mediator who has taught negotiation and since 2019 has served as a panelist on the Northern District of California’s Mediator Panel. Time and again he has used his negotiation savvy to find creative, practical solutions to difficult conflicts.

Planner 5D v. Meta Platforms, Inc., et al. (Northern District of California)

Lead counsel for Planner 5D in six-year copyright and trade secret litigation alleging Princeton’s unauthorized scraping and Meta’s use of 3D works for artificial intelligence model training; case settled on eve of trial.

DSU Medical Corp. v. JMS Co. and ITL Corp. (Federal Circuit)

Argued and won en banc appellate ruling, resolving intra-circuit split over the standard for induced patent infringement; upholding trial court determination of no liability for our client. 471 F.3d 1293 (2006).

Kevin Barry Fine Art Associates v. Ken Gangbar Studio, Inc. (Northern District of California)

Represented sculptor in copyright case against art dealer alleging nationwide sales of knock-off sculptures; established precedent that RICO copyright infringement claims could be brought against smaller than large-scale infringers; case settled.

Balsam Brands Inc. v. Cinmar, LLC d/b/a Frontgate (Northern District of California)

Represented holder of mechanical patent in multiyear infringement suit against accused infringer; case settled.

Synopsys, Inc. v. Ubiquiti Networks, Inc. (Northern District of California)

Successfully defended individual charged with circumvention of copyright protections, fraud, and RICO copyright violations stemming from alleged pirating of semiconductor design software.

Corio, Inc. v. LivePerson, Inc. (American Arbitration Association, affirmed by San Francisco County Superior Court, California Court of Appeal, and California Supreme Court)

Won seven figure breach-of-contract award after three-week arbitration hearing in which the arbitrator categorically rejected all claims of service failures in installation of enterprise-level Software as a Service.

AWARDS AND HONORS

Selected for inclusion in the Northern California Super Lawyers list, 2008-2026

Thomson Reuters Stand-out Lawyers, 2025-2026

AV Rating, Martindale-Hubbell

PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

San Francisco Intellectual Property Law Association (Board of Directors, 2023 – present)

Bar Association of San Francisco, 2013 – present (Judiciary Committee, 2018 – 2020)

Judiciary Committee, Bar Association of San Francisco, 2018 – 2020

American Intellectual Property Law Association

Federal Bar Association

Federal Circuit Bar Association

California Lawyers Association, Intellectual Property and Litigation Sections

Association of Business Trial Lawyers, Northern California Section

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California Historical Society

Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence

Pacific Council on International Policy

SPEAKING AND WRITING

Managing Disputes, a Summary of U.S. Litigation Practices for the Australian Trade and Investment Commission of Australia (2018)

Speaker, Biocyberethics: What To Do When A Computer Wants To Be Your Healthcare Client, International Bar Association Convention, San Francisco, California (Sept. 16, 2003)

A Guide to Picking a Patent Attorney, IEEE Spectrum (May 2002)

Marc showed “the utmost in integrity and skill in adding significant value,” was “incredibly well prepared and effective,” and in winning a seven-figure arbitration award “was able to clearly out-lawyer the other side to attain a complete victory.”

John Whittle
Chief Operating Officer, Fortinet, Inc.

“I was constantly amazed at Marc’s ability to think creatively and outside of the box; his intuition and foresight; his innovative solutions; and the practicality of his approach. From day one, I felt confident in Marc’s insights and expertise, and our working relationship only strengthened. My case’s positive outcome attests to Marc’s abilities, commitment, and teamwork.”

Ken Gangbar
President, Ken Gangbar Studios, Inc.

“Marc is a savvy, pragmatic, and zealous litigator. He knows how to drive a dispute to a successful conclusion. The firm is also unusually responsive. We always feel we are an important client of the firm.”

William R. Sawyer
Senior VP, General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer, & Secretary, Del Monte Foods, Inc.

“Marc Bernstein is a great strategic partner, making sure he first understands our business needs and goals before helping us determine our best legal response in a given dispute or lawsuit.”

Nat Roland
General Counsel & EVP, Legal & Regulatory, Balsam Brands Inc.

“I know we have had our differences in this case, and our share of disputes. But, I wanted to let you know that I think you represented your client well and are a credit to the profession.”

Patricia L. Peden
Partner, Warren LLP
Opposing Counsel in Patent Infringement Case

“Marc and his firm offer a unique combination of legal talent – pragmatic, nimble and efficient problem solvers with big-firm litigation expertise. We’ve had a great experience collaborating with the team to reach successful outcomes.”

Johanna Roberts
Executive VP, General Counsel, and Secretary, Penumbra, Inc.

Marc Bernstein is “a zealous advocate” whose belief in his position “makes you bring your A game. It definitely raised the level of play.”

Danielle Ochs
Shareholder, Ogletree Deakins, P.C.
Opposing Counsel in Trade Secret Misappropriation Case