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Peter Brown

Peter Brown is the national leader of Baker Hostetler’s Technology Law Practice.

He maintains an active practice in technology, intellectual property, litigation and technology-related transactions. Mr. Brown also has broad experience in ADR as an advocate, arbitrator and mediator. He has acted as an expert witness in technology and intellectual property matters. Among Mr. Brown’s representative litigation matters are the following:

• The recent successful trial and appeal to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals of Scientific Components Corp. v. Sirenza Mcrodevices, Inc.
• The trial and appeal of a landmark New York case upholding limitation of liability clauses in computer contracts
• The prosecution of the first major litigation involving issues arising from open source software
• Acted as lead counsel in the defense of a major U.S. outsourcing vendor in a dispute with a prominent insurance industry customer
• Conducted jury and bench trials of technology and commercial trade secret disputes

Mr. Brown has been the lead counsel in litigated matters involving computer software, electronic components, telecom services, outsourcing, financial services, software development disputes, employment law, breach of contract claims, printing industry disputes, international trade issues, patents, trademarks and copyrights.

Mr. Brown also has broad experience in technology transactions involving computer systems, electronic commerce, computer games, intellectual property, content distribution, outsourcing, hardware purchases and software licensing. His in-depth understanding of information technology and Internet legal issues has established him as a leading counselor in the structuring and implementation of a wide variety of technology and Internet systems, advisor on venture financing and counseling on data security and privacy.

Among Mr. Brown’s representative matters are the following:

• Negotiation of development agreements and content licenses for mobile phone applications
• Negotiating one of the largest consulting projects between a Big Four accounting firm and an international electronics manufacturer
• Negotiating numerous software licenses and software development agreements in the financial services and healthcare industries
• Negotiating contracts for the development of Internet games, content and services
• Negotiation of patent licenses

From 2006 through 2010, Mr. Brown has been identified as among the New York Area’s Super Lawyers in the field of technology law.  He has been selected for listing in the directory of The Best Lawyers in America each year since 2006, and in 2008, was selected for listing in the International Who’s Who of Internet and e-Commerce Lawyers. He holds an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell, the leading resource for information on the legal profession and ethics.

Mr. Brown is the past chair of the Commercial and Federal Litigation Section of the New York State Bar Association, a group of over 2,600 commercial litigation lawyers across New York State. He formerly served as chair of that Section’s Intellectual Property Litigation Committee.

Mr. Brown has co-authored the leading treatises Emerging Technologies and the Law: Forms and Analysis and Computer Law: Drafting and Negotiating Forms and Agreements. He also co-authors a monthly column on Computer Law for the New York Law Journal, which has been published for over two decades.

Mr. Brown is an internationally recognized speaker and writer on information technology and intellectual property issues. He has made presentations to legal and business organizations in the United States and eight countries around the world. His numerous articles have been published in general legal publications and law reviews across the United States and abroad.

Mr. Brown is active in the New York community. He serves on the Lincoln Center’s Counsels’ Council, a legal advisory committee coordinating pro bono legal matters for the General Counsel of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Inc. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Lincoln Center Institute, the educational division of Lincoln Center, and the Board of Directors of Citizens Committee for New York City, Inc.

Prior to joining Baker Hostetler, Mr. Brown was the founder and co-managing partner of Brown, Raysman Millstein Felder & Steiner LLP in New York City, a firm which grew from two partners to approximately 250 lawyers before its merger in 2006. As a result, Mr. Brown has extensive experience in the strategic planning, development and marketing of law firms.