LITIGATION COMMENTARY & REVIEW
E J O U R N A L   I N F O R M A T I O N ,   N E W S    &    E V E N T S
Cite as 3 Litigation Commentary & Rev. 12 (Nov./Dec. 2009)

 

James W. Cannon, Jr.

Texas Fellow, James W. Cannon, Jr. is a partner in the Austin firm Baker Botts. Mr. Cannon specializes in intellectual property litigation involving patent and copyright infringement and trade secret theft; premises liability and construction disputes.

Jim Cannon has extensive experience with intellectual property cases, particularly patent and copyright infringement and trade secret theft. He has handled intellectual property cases in Virginia, Missouri, South Carolina, Delaware, Georgia, Indiana, Michigan, Utah, California, New Jersey, Alabama, Illinois and Europe. His intellectual property cases in Texas have taken him to Marshall, Lufkin, Tyler, San Antonio, and, of course, Austin. He was the lead defense lawyer for one of the world's largest manufacturers of semiconductors in a trade secret theft case in Marshal. Mr. Cannon was also one of the lead trial lawyers in the Rambus v. Infineon and Micron v. Rambus infringement suits.

Mr. Cannon has represented clients in trials that include a month-long premises liability case for one of the world's largest construction companies concerning D/FW Airport, and in numerous death cases throughout Texas. He also participated in a construction dispute in what was, at the time, the longest-running civil trial in Williamson County, Texas, winning a defense verdict with attorney's fees assessed against the plaintiff.

Mr. Cannon has thrice been selected by the Supreme Court of Texas to serve on committees dealing with discovery, civil procedure matters and information technology. He has also testified on numerous occasions as an expert witness before the Texas Legislature.

Before attending law school, Mr. Cannon served as an air defense artillery officer in the United States Army.

Representative Engagements

  • Motorola – trade secret misappropriation of an alleged artificial knowledge technology; suspected trade secret misappropriation through inevitable disclosure
  • Sybase – $26 million fraud and negligent misrepresentation case regarding the viability of a replication software product developed by Sybase
  • Trilogy – $10 million fraud case regarding the viability of a Trilogy replication product
  • Motive – software license agreement dispute
  • Rambus – two landmark patent infringement actions filed in federal court in Virginia and Delaware
  • Goldtouch – patent infringement action against Microsoft for trade secret misappropriation and patent infringement; patent infringement action against Logitech concerning the ergonomic design of a computer mouse
  • Samsung – patent infringement action
  • PIMCO – patent infringement case involving a business methods patent
  • Pervasive Software – licensing dispute involving proprietary software

Publications, Speeches and Presentations

  • Planning Committee, State Bar of Texas Intellectual Property Law Course, 2006
  • "Using Your Patent Portfolio To Defend Against A Patent Infringement Suit," 4th Annual CLE Expo, Chicago, March 2005
  • "Medical Negligence Reform," CORE Educational Program, Oklahoma City, May 2004
  • "Enhanced Damages, Willful Infringement, and Festo," 7th Annual Advanced Patent Law Institute, The University of Texas School of Law, Austin, November 2002 (with Michael Barré)
  • "Direct and Cross-Examination of a Damage Expert," Patent Litigation 2002, Practising Law Institute, Washington , D.C. , November 2002
  • "TBA," 26th Annual Page Keeton Products Liability and Personal Injury Law Conference, Austin, October 2002

Education and Honors

  • J.D., The University of Texas School of Law, 1982
    Order of Barristers
  • M.A., administration of justice, Webster University , 1978
  • B.A., political science, Bowling Green State University, 1973
  • American Board of Trial Advocates
  • International Academy of Trial Lawyers
  • Listed in The Best Lawyers in America, 2001 - 2010
  • Named one of the Top Commercial Litigation Lawyers by The American Lawyer, 2006
  • Recognized by Law & Politics as a " Texas Super Lawyer" in Business Litigation, 2003 - 2009
  • Recognized in "Best of Business and Corporate Law" by the Austin Business Journal, June 2004
  • Listed among Black Enterprise Magazine's "Top Black Lawyers," November 2003
  • Named one of the "Best Lawyers in Austin" by Austin Magazine, 2002
  • Recognized in Corporate Counsel: Edition of Super Lawyers as a Top Business Litigation Lawyer, 2009

Court Admissions and Affiliations

  • State Bar of Texas
  • United States Supreme Court
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
  • United States District Courts for the Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western Districts of Texas
  • American Bar Association, Intellectual Property Section
  • American Intellectual Property Law Association
  • Austin Intellectual Property Law Association    
  • Federal Circuit Bar Association
  • Supreme Court of Texas  Judicial Committee on Information Technology
  • Texas Bar Foundation
  • Lifetime Member of the Association of the United States Army
  • The University of Texas School of Law , Dean's Roundtable
  • Austin Theatre Alliance , Board of Directors, 2009