People

Overview

Media and Telecommunication companies rely on Ali Dhanani's significant experience to protect their intellectual property and defend against claims of infringement, especially for competitor patent cases.

He has defended companies in disputes relating to set-top boxes and over-the-top delivery of media content over the internet, telecommunications, Internet of Things, oilfield tools, and a variety of software technologies. Companies further use his experience to develop their software technology portfolio, particularly with implementing and integrating Internet of Things technologies.

He is a sought after speaker and writer and advises companies on blockchain based development strategies, including in the healthcare and energy industries, to assist them with navigating the current legal landscape and build their intellectual property.

His community leadership activities include mentoring students and serving as a team leader in the Honorable Nancy F. Atlas Intellectual Property American Inn of Court, teaching the Procedure of Patent Litigation course as an Adjunct Professor at The University of Houston Law Center, and serving as a Board member for a community-focused conciliation and arbitration board.

Admissions & Affiliations

  • State Bar of Texas
  • United States Patent and Trademark Office
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
  • The Honorable Nancy F. Atlas Intellectual Property American Inn of Court
  • United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of Texas
  • Adjunct Professor of Law, University of Houston Law Center
  • Houston Bar Association
  • Houston Intellectual Property Law Association
  • J.D., University of Houston Law Center 2006
    magna cum laude
    Associate Editor, Houston Law Review
    Order of the Coif
  • B.S., Computer Science, University of Houston 2002

Experience

Media and Telecommunication Cases

  • Uniloc 2017 v. Sling TV (District of Colorado) Representing Sling TV in patent dispute concerning compression and web presentation technologies and challenging claims in inter partes review.
  • Multimedia Content Management v. DISH (Western District of Texas) Received favorable claim construction in patent dispute concerning video-on-demand technology.
  • Blue Spike v. DISH (District of Delaware) Challenging claims in inter partes review of patents concerning licensing and encryption technologies.
  • Customedia Tech. LLC v. DISH (Eastern District of Texas) Challenged claims in inter partes review and covered business method review proceedings and obtained stay of district court action.
  • TQ Beta v. DISH (District of Delaware) Received favorable claim construction in internet television streaming related patent and invalidated claims in inter partes review proceedings resulting in a favorable outcome.
  • Dragon IP LLC v. DISH Network (District of Delaware) Received claim construction leading to non-infringement of DVR-related patent and invalidated claims in inter partes review, which was confirmed on appeal.
  • Qurio Holdings, Inc. v. DISH Network (N.D. California) Transferred a three-patent case concerning DRM and virtual remotes to California and challenged patents in IPR resulting in a favorable outcome.
  • Custom Media Techs. LLC v. DISH Network (District of Delaware) Invalidated a patent concerning customized presentations on indefiniteness.
  • WebMap Tech. v. City Accommodations Network Inc. et al. (Eastern District of Texas) Defended Yahoo! in a patent infringement case involving mapping technology, and filed reexamination requests and canceled the asserted claims.

Software and Technology Cases

  • Karamelion Litigation (District of Delaware) Represented home security company in patent dispute concerning wireless communication technology at pre-answer stage.
  • Carrier Corp. v. Goodman et al. (District of Delaware) Overturned adverse jury verdict in post-trial motions in case involving software controls for HVAC technology.
  • Realtime v. CME Group Inc. et al., Chicago Mercantile Exchange, New York Mercantile Exchange and Chicago Board of Trade (Eastern District of Texas, Southern District of New York) Transferred a six-patent case concerning software data compression patents and received summary judgment of noninfringement at the Southern District of New York which was confirmed on appeal.
  • TQP Development v. Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. et al. (Eastern District of Texas) Defended TD Ameritrade in a patent case concerning encryption technologies.
  • Alcatel USA Resources, Inc. v. Microsoft Corp. (Eastern District of Texas) Represented Alcatel in asserting three patents directed to network management systems and video transfer technology against Microsoft's operating system environment.
  • Macrovision Corp. v. Wise Solutions and Altiris, Inc. (Northern District of California) Competitor patent case involving patents directed to IT management software, asserted counterclaim patents resulting in a favorable outcome.
  • HSM Portfolio LLC v. Fujitsu Ltd. et al (District of Delaware) Concluded matter on favorable outcome post claim construction for Toshiba in a patent case concerning microprocessor technology.
  • Sai People Solutions, Inc. (Superior Court of Los Angeles County) Defended a trade secret case concerning confidential business information.

Energy Cases

  • Oil Lift Tech., Inc. v. Millennium Oilflow and MOST Oil USA (District of Delaware) Defeated preliminary injunction motion in competitor patent suit involving oilfield tools for progressive cavity pump systems.
  • Gyrodata Incorporated v. Gyro Technologies and Dataflow Measurement Systems, Ltd. (Southern District of Texas) Defeated preliminary injunction motion in competitor patent suit involving downhole surveying tools for oilfields.

Awards and Community

Recognized as a Texas Super Lawyer-Rising Star (Thomson Reuters), 2014-2019