Areas of Focus
Intellectual Property Brand Integrity and Innovation Group Litigation and Appeals Blockchain and Digital AssetsBiography
Zac Alinder specializes in high stakes business and intellectual property litigation, involving copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, computer fraud, crypto-currency, unfair competition, counterfeiting and intellectual property theft. He also regularly advises companies regarding a wide range of pre-litigation and non-litigation brand protection, copyright, and trademark issues. He is also a member of the Blockchain and Digital Assets Practice Group. He has tried, arbitrated, mediated, and handled appeals of cases in numerous state and federal courts, including all California district courts and the Ninth Circuit. He has been selected for the Northern California Super Lawyers list for Intellectual Property Litigation by Super Lawyers magazine from 2016 to the present, received a Client Choice Awards for litigation from Lexology in 2018 and 2021, and is recognized in IP Stars by Managing IP as well as in the World Trademark Review WTR 1000. Mr. Alinder is a fellow of the American Bar Foundation and formerly served on the Executive Committee for the Civil Litigation Section of the Bar Association of San Francisco.
Mr. Alinder’s notable matters include recently representing an early crypto-currency exchange and one of its co-founders in a business dispute brought by another co-founder, successfully resolving in July 2022, after 2-1/2 weeks of trial following the cross-examination of the plaintiff. Mr. Alinder also represented Oracle in copyright and computer fraud litigation against SAP, through the jury trial at the end of 2010. The $1.3 billion jury verdict for Oracle was the largest jury verdict of 2010 and the largest copyright jury verdict of all time. Other notable recent matters include representing Ford, Cisco Systems, Avaya, lululemon, Fitbit, Tesla, Yelp, and Shopify in IP litigation, IP enforcement, and related brand protection matters.
Mr. Alinder is the chair of the Firm’s Pro Bono Committee. Most notably, he has worked on a pro bono basis with the Stanford Law School’s Center for Internet and Society, as well as with various artists and artistic foundations, including the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, to promote a proper balance in the law between the rights granted to intellectual property rights holders and the rights to freedom of speech and expression.
Prior to joining Sideman & Bancroft, Mr. Alinder was a partner in the San Francisco office of what is now known as Morgan Lewis, formerly Bingham McCutchen, where he led the Northern California Pro Bono and Recruiting Committees for Bingham.
Experience
Intellectual Property Enforcement and Litigation
- Represented Cisco Systems in copyright and trademark enforcement litigations in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California
- Represented lululemon in trademark enforcement litigations in the United States District Court for the Northern and Central Districts of California
- Represented Fitbit in trademark enforcement litigation in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California
- Represented Avaya in copyright and trademark litigation in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California
- Represented Tesla in trade secret litigation in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California
- Represented Oracle in copyright litigation matter in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, including successful trial result
- Represented Samsung in federal trademark infringement investigation and enforcement efforts
- Represented Shopify in defending copyright and trademark troll actions in the Southern District of New York and third party subpoena matter in the Northern District of California
- Represented NanoPyxis in trade secret enforcement matter in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California
- Represented Vivendi and Societe Francaise du Radiotelephone in trade secret misappropriation, interference, computer fraud and unfair competition action in Santa Clara County Superior Court
- Represented Ascential Software Corporation in employment, trade secret misappropriation and copyright infringement dispute in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California
General Litigation
- Represented Cisco Systems in discount fraud action in Kern County Superior Court
- Represented Monster Cable Products in sales, discount and RMA fraud action pending before the American Arbitration Association
- Represented early bitcoin exchange and founders in dispute with another founder in San Francisco Superior Court
- Represented JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. in various state and federal courts around the nation in numerous consumer class actions, involving contract, unfair business practices, privacy, and fraud claims, notching early dismissals in 18 consumer class actions
- Represented Intel Corp. in high tech recruiting class action in the Northern District of California
- Represented Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc. in dealership contract dispute in Alameda County Superior Court
- Represented T-Mobile USA Inc. in numerous class action proceedings, in the Alameda County Superior Court
- Represented McKesson Canada Corporation in distribution contract dispute, in the United States District Court for the Central District of California
- Represented Ferrari of San Francisco in a general contract dispute, in Marin County Superior Court
- Represented defendants in obtaining defense verdict in eight-week trial in Alameda County Superior Court on antitrust claims alleging secret discount, affirmed on appeal up to the California Supreme Court
Decisions
- Avaya Inc. v. Pearce, et al., 2019 WL 6311383 (N.D. Cal. Nov. 25, 2019) & 2020 WL 8513514 (N.D. Cal. Dec. 22, 2020), etc.
- Fitbit Inc. v. Laguna 2, LLC, et al., 2017 WL 8294246 (N.D. Cal. Feb. 24, 2017), 2018 WL 2215465 (N.D. Cal. May 15, 2018), etc.
- Yelp Inc. v. Herzstock, 788 Fed.Appx. 529 (9th Cir. 2019)
- Yelp Inc. v. Herzstock, 2018 WL 10638325 (N.D. Cal. March 6, 2018)
- In re NanoPyxis Co., Ltd., 2018 WL 1156838 (N.D. Cal. March 5, 2018)
- Pokemon Company International, Inc. v. Shopify, Inc., 2017 WL 697520 (Feb. 22, 2017)
- Ellis v. J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., 950 F.Supp.2d.1062 (N.D. Cal. June 13, 2013)
- Cariou v. Prince, 714 F.3d 694 (2nd Cir. 2013)
- Casault v. Federal Nat. Mortg. Ass’n, 915 F.Supp.2d 1113 (C.D. Cal. November 26, 2012)
- Rex v. Chase Home Finance LLC, 905 F.Supp.2d 1111 (C.D. Cal. November 19, 2012)
- In re High-Tech Employee Antitrust Litigation, 856 F.Supp.2d 1103 (N.D. Cal. April 18, 2012)
- McNeary-Calloway v. JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., 863 F.Supp.2d 928 (N.D. Cal. March 26, 2012)
- Oracle Corp. v. SAP AG, 734 F.Supp.2d 956 (N.D. Cal. August 17, 2010)
- Gaylord v. U.S., 595 F.3d 1364 (Fed. Cir. 2010)
- Oracle Corp. v. SAP AG, 566 F.Supp.2d 1010 (N.D. Cal. July 3, 2008)
Professional Involvement
Mr. Alinder is a member of the American Bar Association and the Bar Association of San Francisco, where he recently finished a term on the Executive Committee for the Civil Litigation Section, and he has been a member of the Edward J. McFetridge American Inn of Court. He is also a fellow of the American Bar Foundation.
Mr. Alinder served as a volunteer assistant district attorney in the Misdemeanor Trial Unit for the City and County of San Francisco in 2006.
Mr. Alinder has been a faculty member for the Practising Law Institute webcast, Avoiding E-Discovery Pitfalls: Litigation Holds and Preservation Letters.
Listed in World Trademark Review’s List of The World’s Leading Trademark Professionals 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
Named Trademark Star by Managing Intellectual Property
Selected for the Client Choice Award for 2018 and 2021, California – Litigation, by Lexology.
Listed in Northern California Super Lawyers®: 2016-2024
Listed in Northern California Rising Stars: 2011-2013
Education
- Stanford University B.S., 1995
- Stanford University M.S., 1997
- University of California, Berkeley, School of Law J.D., 2000, Member, Moot Court Board, Moot Court Overall Advocacy Commendation; Member, Ecology Law Quarterly; Boalt Hall Award for Excellence in Legal Writing
Admissions
- California
Awards
Biography
Zac Alinder specializes in high stakes business and intellectual property litigation, involving copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, computer fraud, crypto-currency, unfair competition, counterfeiting and intellectual property theft. He also regularly advises companies regarding a wide range of pre-litigation and non-litigation brand protection, copyright, and trademark issues. He is also a member of the Blockchain and Digital Assets Practice Group. He has tried, arbitrated, mediated, and handled appeals of cases in numerous state and federal courts, including all California district courts and the Ninth Circuit. He has been selected for the Northern California Super Lawyers list for Intellectual Property Litigation by Super Lawyers magazine from 2016 to the present, received a Client Choice Awards for litigation from Lexology in 2018 and 2021, and is recognized in IP Stars by Managing IP as well as in the World Trademark Review WTR 1000. Mr. Alinder is a fellow of the American Bar Foundation and formerly served on the Executive Committee for the Civil Litigation Section of the Bar Association of San Francisco.
Mr. Alinder’s notable matters include recently representing an early crypto-currency exchange and one of its co-founders in a business dispute brought by another co-founder, successfully resolving in July 2022, after 2-1/2 weeks of trial following the cross-examination of the plaintiff. Mr. Alinder also represented Oracle in copyright and computer fraud litigation against SAP, through the jury trial at the end of 2010. The $1.3 billion jury verdict for Oracle was the largest jury verdict of 2010 and the largest copyright jury verdict of all time. Other notable recent matters include representing Ford, Cisco Systems, Avaya, lululemon, Fitbit, Tesla, Yelp, and Shopify in IP litigation, IP enforcement, and related brand protection matters.
Mr. Alinder is the chair of the Firm’s Pro Bono Committee. Most notably, he has worked on a pro bono basis with the Stanford Law School’s Center for Internet and Society, as well as with various artists and artistic foundations, including the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, to promote a proper balance in the law between the rights granted to intellectual property rights holders and the rights to freedom of speech and expression.
Prior to joining Sideman & Bancroft, Mr. Alinder was a partner in the San Francisco office of what is now known as Morgan Lewis, formerly Bingham McCutchen, where he led the Northern California Pro Bono and Recruiting Committees for Bingham.