Brian Rosenthal, a partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, has been recognized as one of Law360’s 2025 Intellectual Property MVPs. This accolade highlights his role as lead counsel in securing three significant trial victories for Cisco Systems Inc., including a rare directed verdict in the patent-friendly Western District of Texas, where $121 million was at stake.
In January 2025, Rosenthal led the defense in a patent infringement case brought by Corrigent Corp. against Cisco. The plaintiff initially sought over $376 million in damages, alleging infringement of five patents. Through strategic motion practice, Rosenthal’s team reduced the case to a single patent and $120 million in claimed damages. During the trial, before closing arguments, U.S. District Judge Alan Albright granted a directed verdict in favor of Cisco, marking only the third such ruling in his court. Rosenthal had previously secured the first two directed verdicts before Judge Albright. ([gibsondunn.com](https://www.gibsondunn.com/gibson-dunn-team-scores-significant-patent-trial-win-by-securing-a-rare-directed-verdict-for-client-cisco/?utm_source=openai))
Following this, in February 2025, Rosenthal achieved another unanimous jury verdict for Cisco in a separate patent trial. The jury found the asserted patent was not infringed, invalid, and could not be asserted against Cisco due to prior commercial use over a year before the patent was filed. This is believed to be the first-ever jury verdict finding that a patent could not be asserted under 35 U.S.C. § 273. ([gibsondunn.com](https://www.gibsondunn.com/gibson-dunn-secures-a-unanimous-jury-verdict-win-for-cisco-in-patent-trial/?utm_source=openai))
In June 2025, Rosenthal led a Gibson Dunn team to a complete jury verdict in favor of Cisco and its subsidiary, Duo Security, in a patent infringement case brought by CosmoKey. The plaintiff sought nearly $140 million in damages related to verification technology. After a five-day trial, the jury found in favor of Cisco and Duo on all grounds, including non-infringement, prior commercial use by defendants, and invalidity of the patent. This marked only the second-ever verdict of prior commercial use under 35 U.S.C. § 273(a) since its enactment more than a decade ago. ([gibsondunn.com](https://www.gibsondunn.com/gibson-dunn-secures-complete-victory-for-cisco-and-duo-in-patent-infringement-case/?utm_source=openai))
Rosenthal’s consistent success in high-stakes patent litigation underscores his expertise and strategic acumen in defending complex intellectual property cases. His recognition as a 2025 Intellectual Property MVP by Law360 reflects his significant contributions to the field. ([gibsondunn.com](https://www.gibsondunn.com/law360-names-four-partners-among-its-2025-mvps/?utm_source=openai))