Robert E. Kohn, Esq.

Robert E. Kohn litigates entertainment cases and technically complex business disputes in federal and state courts. He brings experience in intellectual property, unfair competition claims and sophisticated business deals to addressing the practical goals of the parties. Kohn believes that companies and business people should litigate only if necessary. He pursues innovative negotiation strategies, often leading to resolution of seemingly uncompromisable differences, and saving substantial costs.

Kohn also serves the Federal Bar Association as co-chair of its committee on Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and Trial Practice, where he is currently leading a nationwide review of proposals before Congress and the Judicial Conference of the United States to modify or retain the federal disciplinary rules for litigation conduct. He has extensive litigation experience in California and nationwide:

• Asserted ownership claims and accounting rights arising from a portfolio of entertainment industry assets – including copyrights, trademarks, literary rights and rights of publicity – that had been transferred in a series of transactions involving Stan Lee, the creator of Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, The X-Men and many other stories and characters. Stan Lee Media, Inc. v. Lee, No. CV07-0225 SVW (SSx) (C.D. Cal.).
• Together with counsel for the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, Kohn argued and won an appeal of a bankruptcy order that had disallowed a “representative” claim (similar to a class action) for restitution of $300 million based on fraudulent mortgage lending practices under the California unfair competition law. The appellate court reversed that order and reinstated the claim. AARP v. First Alliance Mortgage Co. (In re First Alliance Mortgage Co.), 269 B.R. 428 (C.D. Cal. 2001).
• Asserted patent infringement claims against a foreign manufacturer on behalf of a U.S. firm whose people had invented microchip designs for creating the Digital Visual Interface (“DVI”) standard that flat-panel computer monitors use to receive image data. The DVI technology is also used to transmit image data in "HDMI" home-entertainment systems. Silicon Image, Inc. v. Genesis Microchip, Inc., 271 F. Supp. 2d 840 (E.D. Va. 2003).
• Defended claims of patent infringement and fraud arising from an international venture to develop, manufacture and distribute medical devices used for warming intravenous fluids. The case settled upon a stipulated judgment establishing that one of Kohn’s clients had co-invented the innovations claimed in the patent. Sanko Co., Ltd. v. Automatic Medical Technologies, Inc., No. CV03-7242 GPS (FMOx) (C.D. Cal.).
• In a case of alleged copyright infringement and international theft of trade secrets, Kohn successfully defended a counterclaim under Section 7 of the Clayton Act asserting that a software company had created an entrenched monopoly by acquiring some of its competitors. The case involved the licensing – and the alleged tying – of applications used to record computer data in two different digital formats on compact discs. Adaptec, Inc. v. Prassi Software USA, Inc., No. 98cv20305 (N.D. Cal.).
• Asserted antitrust claims based on the defendant’s conduct of fraudulently obtaining an injunction to stop competition through assertion of patent rights. The defendant had falsely claimed to be the owner of the critical patent for technology used in reverse osmosis for desalinating water – and had obtained an injunction against competition by its rivals – before the injunction was vacated when its purported ownership was later held to be baseless. Hydranautics v. FilmTec Corp., No. 3:93-cv-476 (S.D. Cal.), aff’d, 2007-1 Trade Cases ¶ 75,646 (9th Cir. Mar. 16, 2007).
• In a case involving methods for maintaining the secrecy of encryption "keys" used in retail payment networks, Kohn asserted claims against a competitor who raided employees and customers, stole thousands of pounds of electronics gear, and misappropriated technical and business information. The case involved expert forensic testimony regarding electronic documents, and the use of e-discovery tools to review and produce emails and security video data. Creative Concepts Software, Inc. v. MobileTech Solutions, Inc., No. CV 05-0670 DOC (MLGx) (C.D. Cal. 2008).

Before founding Kohn Law Group, Inc. in 2003, Kohn was a partner in McDermott, Will & Emery in Los Angeles. He earned his undergraduate degree from Duke University, and he received his law degree from Duke (with honors) in 1992 before clerking for Judge Joel F. Dubina of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. He is admitted to practice in California and the District of Columbia. He has also appeared as counsel before courts in Arizona, Delaware, Nevada, New York, Texas, Virginia, and Washington State. Kohn is a member of the bar of the Supreme Court of the United States and the bar of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, among others.

Bashir E. Eustache

Bashir E. Eustache is an accomplished litigator and counselor, who has obtained successful results for companies of all sizes in commercial, intellectual property, unfair competition and employment disputes. Mr. Eustache has also applied that experience to offer practical and effective legal advice to reduce litigation risk and to audit governmental compliance in business deals and internal best practices.

Before joining Kohn Law Group in 2011, Mr. Eustache was an associate at McGuireWoods LLP in Los Angeles. He earned an undergraduate degree from Duke University in 2000 and a law degree from Duke University School of Law in 2003, where he received distinction for Outstanding Achievement in Intellectual Property and Technology. He then served as a clerk for the Honorable Judges Haley Fromholz and Thomas Willhite before being admitted to practice in California.