Global 100 law firm Nixon Peabody is expanding its West Coast presence with the arrival of intellectual property partners Erica Van Loon and Andrew Choung to the firm’s Los Angeles office. They both previously practiced at Lathrop GPM in LA prior to joining the firm.
Nixon Peabody has identified West Coast growth as a priority and continues to expand its Intellectual Property practice based on client demand. “As we transition into a post-COVID environment, clients in core industries that help drive the region’s economy—including music and entertainment, med tech, life sciences, and esports—are experiencing significant and complex intellectual property needs,” said Justin X. Thompson, managing partner of the firm’s Los Angeles office. “Erica and Andrew bring an innovative and entrepreneurial approach that will create positive impact for our clients. This team is also among the few that have represented academic institutions in patent enforcement campaigns, which has been a hallmark of our Los Angeles IP team’s work for the last several years.”
Erica Van Loon
Erica is an IP trial lawyer who focuses her practice on copyright, trademark, patent, rights of publicity, trade secrets, invasion of privacy, defamation, business interference, and other media and entertainment claims. Her clients extend across a wide range of industries, including entertainment and media, software and hardware, apparel and footwear, toys and video games, consumer electronics, beauty and personal care, and food and beverage. In addition, she counsels public and private companies and individuals on IP protection, enforcement, and defense strategy.
Of note, Erica was one of the principal attorneys who won a bench trial for Reuben Klamer, the author of the iconic board game, The Game of Life, on the issue of copyright ownership. The court was persuaded that plaintiff’s late husband’s work on the prototype of the game was a work for hire for Mr. Klamer, which resulted in the court unequivocally holding that Mr. Klamer was the author of the game and the owner of the copyright on it.
Erica attended Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, and earned a B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley. She was named the 2019 “Intellectual Property Attorney of the Year” by Los Angeles Business Journal. Erica is the current treasurer and a board member of the Los Angeles Intellectual Property Law Association and is a founding board member and chair emeritus of the Association of Media & Entertainment Counsel, Women Who Lead Board.
Andrew Choung
Andrew focuses his practice on high-tech, complex patent litigation and Patent Trial and Appeal Board proceedings such as inter partes review. In addition, he provides strategic counsel to clients on the development of licensing and monetization programs, patent portfolio development, and IP acquisition, licensing, and due diligence. Using his technical background, Andrew’s clients represent companies in various high-tech industries including telecommunications technologies, display and display materials technologies, semiconductors and semiconductor manufacturing equipment, automotive and aeronautical technologies, software, internet technologies, business and financial methods, PC games, and virtual worlds and assets.
With experience practicing in both the United States and Asia, Andrew has counseled clients on cross-border matters, including multi-country patent enforcement. He serves as advisory counsel to the Intellectual Property Desk of the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) in Los Angeles. A key area of focus for Andrew is working with Korean universities, research institutes, and companies. As one example, he successfully represented a university-based licensing entity in a patent-assertion action over FinFET technology, winning a $400 million verdict in jury trial.
Andrew earned a J.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles, and received an M.S. from Georgia Institute of Technology in aerospace. He also received a B.A. from Bard College.
