Commercial Litigation Litigation - Intellectual Property Litigation - Patent
Eric M. Acker
Recognized in Best Lawyers since 2009 Awarded Practice Areas
Biography
Eric Acker is a partner and trial lawyer in the firm’s Intellectual Property Group. Mr. Acker has tried more than 50 trials (including more than 47 jury trials) in courtrooms across the country.
Mr. Acker’s recent trials have involved a variety of technologies and significant legal issues. In the high-profile SCO v. Novell case, following a three-week trial, the jury affirmed our client Novell’s ownership of the copyrights to the UNIX software code and rejected SCO’s claim for damages of $100 to $200 million. Mr. Acker received a 2012 California Lawyer Attorney of the Year Award (CLAY Award) for the defense of Novell. During the past several years, Mr. Acker has tried patent cases in numerous jurisdictions, including New York, New Jersey, Utah, California, Texas and Massachusetts, and Nevada.
In addition to winning the CLAY award in 2012, Mr. Acker was named the Best Lawyers in America San Diego Litigation Patent Lawyer of the Year in 2014 and San Diego Litigation - Intellectual Property Lawyer of the Year in 2018. He is also recommended as a leading lawyer by Best Lawyers in America 2009-2018 and Legal 500 US 2013, and was named a “California Local Litigation Star” in the 2015-2018 issues of Benchmark Litigation.
Prior to joining Morrison & Foerster in 1999, Mr. Acker spent ten years as a federal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the District of Columbia and the Southern District of California. He is a past Lawyer Representative to the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference for the Southern District of California, and also a Master in the Louis Welsh Inn of Court, San Diego Chapter.
Mr. Acker was Phi Beta Kappa at the University of California at Berkeley where he received his B.S. He received his J.D., cum laude, from the University of Michigan Law School, where he served as an Associate Editor of the Michigan Law Review and was elected to the Order of the Coif.
Overview
- University of California Berkeley, J.D., graduated 1985
- University of California Berkeley, graduated 1985
- California, The State Bar of California
- District of Columbia, The District of Columbia Bar
- United States District Court
- California, The State Bar of California
- District of Columbia, The District of Columbia Bar
- University of California Berkeley, J.D., graduated 1985
- University of California Berkeley, graduated 1985
- United States District Court
Client Testimonials
Awards & Focus
Named "Lawyer of the Year" by Best Lawyers® for:
- Litigation - Intellectual Property, San Diego (2018)
- Litigation - Patent, San Diego (2014)
Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® 2026 for work in:
- Commercial Litigation
- Litigation - Intellectual Property
- Litigation - Patent
Additional Areas of Practice:
- Copyright Law
- Patent Law
- Trademark Law
Special Focus:
- Intellectual Property
News & Media
Case History
Cases
- McKesson v. Bridge Medical
Represented a small medical device company in patent litigation against McKesson involving automated patient identification systems. We prevailed on a defense of inequitable conduct following trial in district court in the Eastern District of California, resulting in the asserted patent being held unenforceable. The Federal Circuit opinion affirming the trial court''s ruling is significant precedent in the area of inequitable conduct in patent litigation.
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