Paul Gaffney handles an array of complex litigation, with an emphasis on intellectual property and licensing disputes, media litigation, and professional liability defense. He has been lead trial counsel in state and federal courts and in arbitration, playing an important role in number of groundbreaking cases in the biopharmaceutical field. His recent representations include:
-- Genentech, Inc. v. Amgen, Inc., patent litigation in the District of Delaware over Amgen’s efforts to manufacture and sell a biosimilar to Avastin®, Genentech’s blockbuster cancer therapy.
-- bioMerieux, Inc. v. Hologic, Inc., et al., patent litigation in the District of Delaware over HIV-1 detection assays.
-- Hempel, et al. v. Cydan Development, et al., defense of contract and misappropriation claims concerning a treatment for Niemann-Pick disease.
In 2014 Mr. Gaffney represented AstraZeneca in the first “pay-for-delay” antitrust case tried to a jury after the Supreme Court's decision FTC v. Actavis. In 2012 and 2015 he represented MedImmune as lead trial counsel in cases concerning licenses relating to the manufacture and sale of its biologic medicine for respiratory syncytial virus.
Mr. Gaffney also represented MedImmune in MedImmune v. Genentech, the 2007 Supreme Court decision granting patent licensees the right to sue patent holders, and MedImmune v. PDL BioPharma, in which he helped secure both a summary judgment invalidating a key biotechnology patent and a nine-figure settlement resolving other claims. Outside the biopharmaceutical industry, Mr. Gaffney has been lead counsel in litigation concerning software patents, wireless spectrum auctions, and the application of the Lanham Act to on-line businesses.
Mr. Gaffney, who worked as a newspaper reporter before law school, has built a high-profile media practice. He was lead counsel for Discovery Communications in several reality television disputes, including its contract litigation against Jon Gosselin. He also represented the major television networks in ABC, et al. v. Flying J, — successfully challenging the use of ad substitution software in commercial establishments. His film industry credits include a series of lawsuits against distributors of DVD-copying software and proprietors of unauthorized film downloading software and websites.
His news clients have included many of America’s top journalistic organizations. He’s represented the Washington Post, Fox, and ABC in libel, privacy, and other media-related disputes. He represented CNN and Time in litigation arising from the famous 1998 “Tailwind” report that the U.S. military used nerve gas in Vietnam — arguing the appeal in Van Buskirk v. CNN, 284 F.3d 977 (9th Cir. 2002). He represented MediaNews Group, Inc. during the 2000s in its long-running litigation in Utah over ownership of The Salt Lake Tribune.
Mr. Gaffney has also defended several law firms facing legal malpractice claims.
Mr. Gaffney graduated from Duke University in 1986 and received his J.D., with honors, from the University of Chicago Law School in 1991. After clerking on the U.S. Court of Appeals he joined Williams & Connolly in 1992 and has worked there since. Mr. Gaffney has served on the Boards of Catholic Charities of Washington, the Washington Area Lawyers for the Arts, and the Duke Student Publishing Corporation.