Haynes and Boone Team Obtains Favorable Result in Lawsuit Over Passport Health Franchise Agreement

Haynes and Boone, LLP attorneys have secured a favorable court decision for client Passport Health, Inc., a franchisor of travel health services, in its lawsuit against a franchisee for breach of contract and violation of trademark.

The Haynes and Boone team -- Partner Aimee Furness of Dallas and Associate Jason Gonder of the firm’s Silicon Valley office -- obtained more than $400,000 in damages and lost profits for Passport Health in addition to more than $175,000 in fees and costs. >>

Mealey's Litigation Report Notes Important Work of Steve Levitan and Jason Gonder

A failure by counsel for a patent plaintiff to adequately investigate its allegation of infringement led a North Carolina federal judge on July 13 to deem the case exceptional for purposes of an award of attorney fees (Precision Links Inc. v. USA Products Group Inc. and Home Depot Inc., No. 08-576, W.D. N.C.). >>



Jason M. Gonder

Associate

Silicon Valley


2033 Gateway Place
Suite 300
San Jose, California 95110
T +1 408.660.4145
F +1 408.660.4245

Areas of Practice

Education

  • J.D., Stanford Law School, Editor, Stanford Law Review
  • B.A., Linguistics, University of Rochester

Bar Admissions

  • California
  • New York

Court Admissions

  • Supreme Court of the U.S.
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
  • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
  • U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
  • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California
  • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York

Jason Gonder is an associate in the Intellectual Property Practice Group in the Silicon Valley office of Haynes and Boone. He represents clients in intellectual property law including trademark and trade dress litigation and enforcement, patent litigation, trade secret litigation, general commercial litigation, trademark opposition and cancellation proceedings in the Patent and Trademark Office, prosecution of trademark applications, trademark clearance, copyright litigation, domain name disputes, intellectual property due diligence investigations, and intellectual property counseling and strategic planning. Jason has represented clients in a wide array of industries in federal courts in California, New York, Illinois, Texas, Pennsylvania, Nevada, North Carolina, the District of Columbia, and Georgia, in state courts in California and New York, and in the International Trade Commission, and has participated in appeals before the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Federal, Second, and Eleventh Circuits and the California Court of Appeals.

Representative Experience

  • Cambro Manufacturing Co. v. Win-Holt Equipment Corp. (C.D. Cal.). Represented plaintiff in design patent infringement suit relating to restaurant and catering equipment.
  • Chicago Board Options Exchange, Inc. v. International Securities Exchange, LLC (N.D. Ill.). Represented defendant in patent infringement suit relating to a securities trading system.
  • Crank Brothers, Inc. v. Easton-Bell Sports, Inc., et al. (C.D. Cal.). Represented plaintiff in patent infringement suit relating to bicycle tire pumps.
  • In re Certain Underground Cable and Pipe Locators (ITC). Represented respondents in patent investigation relating to cable and pipe locators.
  • MetLife, Inc. v. Metropolitan National Bank (S.D.N.Y.). Represented plaintiff in trademark infringement suit relating to banking.
  • Passport Health, Inc. v. Travel Med, Inc., et al. (E.D. Cal.). Represented plaintiff in franchise dispute.
  • Papyrus Technology Corporation v. New York Stock Exchange LLC (S.D.N.Y.). Represented defendant in patent infringement suit relating to handheld securities trading devices.
  • PageBites, Inc. v. IMOController.com, et al. (N.D. Cal.). Represented plaintiff in trademark infringement suit relating to an iPhone app.
  • Research In Motion Limited v. BackOffice Associates, Inc., et al. (N.D. Tex.). Represented plaintiff in trademark infringement suit relating to handheld electronic devices.
  • Research In Motion Limited v. Sakar International, Inc. (N.D. Tex.). Represented plaintiff in trademark infringement suit relating to handheld electronic devices.
  • Research In Motion Limited v. Samsung Telecommunications America LP, et al. (C.D. Cal.). Represented plaintiff in trademark infringement suit relating to handheld electronic devices.
  • Zylotrim, LLC v. Superbalife International, LLC (S.D. Cal.). Represented plaintiff in trademark infringement suit relating to nutraceuticals.

Publications

  • "Risky Business: Due Diligence Always Uncovers Something Awry. But How Can You Tell What's Material or Not When It Comes to IP?" The Deal (Nov. 13, 2006).
  • "Intellectual Property/Risky Business: Assessing Materiality in IP Due Diligence," 10 Journal of Biolaw and Business, Vol. 10, No. 2 (2007).
  • "HP v. Acceleron: Companies No Longer Have to Bet the Farm When Facing Possible Infringement Suits," new matter (Official Publication of the Intellectual Property Law Section of the State Bar of California), Vol. 35, No. 3 (2010).

Selected Representative Experience


Passport Health, Inc. v. Travel Med, Inc. and Gina Flaharty (E.D. California - Sacramento, 2011)
Represented franchisor in breach of contract and trademark infringement suit against a franchisee who terminated its agreement. All of the franchisee's claims were dismissed by the court. The court also granted the injunction sought by the franchisor. Following a bench trial on the franchisor's damage claims, the franchisor was awarded more than $400,000 in damages and lost profits and recovery of its attorney's fees.

Memberships

  • State Bar of California
  • State Bar of New York
  • International Trademark Association, The Trademark Reporter Committee
  • Intellectual Property Owners Association, Damages and Injunctions Committee
  • American Bar Association

Online Publications

05/07/2010 - The IP Beacon, May 2010
A Haynes and Boone Newsletter highlighting current issues in Intellectual Property Law.

05/04/2010 - HP v. Acceleron: Staring up the Patent Infringement Gun Barrel Without Risking Your Company’s Life