Leslie Payne

Partner
1111 Bagby, Suite 2100 | Houston, TX 77002
Phone: (713) 221-2003
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About Leslie Payne

For over 30 years, Leslie Payne has focused on high-stakes patent infringement cases while representing plaintiffs and defendants at both the trial and appellate levels. His legal background also includes numerous cases involving trade secret misappropriation, unfair competition, trademark infringement, breach of contract claims, and other areas related to intellectual property. Les co-founded Heim, Payne & Chorush in 2006.

Les serves as lead and co-lead counsel in his cases throughout the country, from initial filings through trying cases to verdicts and handling subsequent appeals before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and U.S. Supreme Court.

Les has represented clients in various engineering and science disciplines, including the mechanical, electrical, computer, and chemical arts. On the plaintiff’s side, Les has helped clients win numerous verdicts and settlements totaling well over a billion dollars. In addition, his defense clients have won multiple dismissals without any payment to plaintiffs. Please see the Representative Cases header below for more examples of Les’ work for clients.

In addition to his courtroom representation of plaintiffs and defendants, Les has an active inter partes review practice before the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTAB”). On behalf of patent-owner clients, he has successfully convinced the PTAB to uphold the validity of many contested patents. These successes have allowed clients to continue pursuing the enforcement of their patents in litigation against infringers. Les also has helped those accused of patent infringement successfully invalidate many patents at the PTAB, which has resulted in the dismissal of the related lawsuits.

Les has earned professional honors from numerous legal organizations, including Chambers USA, The Best Lawyers in America, and Texas Super Lawyers, among others. These honors demonstrate that he has been consistently recognized as a leading litigation attorney in the intellectual property field.

Representative Cases
  • Enventure Global Technologies, Inc. v Weatherford U.S., L.P.:Representing Weatherford U.S. L.P. (one of the largest oil field services companies), Les served as lead counsel in successfully defending against patent infringement allegations brought by Enventure Global Technology, Inc., an affiliate of Royal Dutch Shell that holds the largest market share for expandable tubing. Prior to suing Weatherford over 11 patents, Enventure had won a $16 million judgment based on the same patents against another company. In the face of Enventure’s claims for tens of millions in damages against Weatherford, Les’ team at Heim, Payne & Chorush secured court-ordered dismissals of five patents and filed inter partes review (IPR) petitions at the Patent and Trial Appeal Board (PTAB) seeking to invalidate the remaining Enventure patents. In March, April, and May 2022, the PTAB issued final decisions invalidating all asserted claims in five of Enventure’s patents. The following month, Eventure’s claims were dismissed with prejudice.
    Read more about the case here: Oil & Gas Service Provider Scores Patent Infringement Win (hpcllp.com).
  • Wapp Tech Limited Partnership and Wapp Tech Corp. v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A Les served as lead counsel for Wapp Tech Corp. and Wapp Tech Limited Partnership in patent infringement litigation against Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. The lawsuit was filed in August 2021 before the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas in Sherman. Wapp had previously won a jury verdict of $172.5 million in March 2021 against Micro Focus International. That case was subsequently settled for $67.5 million. Wapp’s patents cover software tools used to develop and test applications for mobile devices. This case focused on Wells Fargo’s use of various software tools to create and test its mobile banking applications. Before the notice of settlement was filed in late September 2022, Heim, Payne & Chorush secured a Markman ruling on numerous issues in favor of Wapp.Read more about the case here: Wapp Tech Co.’s Resolve Patent Infringement Lawsuit Against Wells Fargo (hpcllp.com).
  • Wapp Tech Limited Partnership and Wapp Tech Corp. v. Bank of America, N.A. Les also served as lead counsel for Wapp Tech Corp. and Wapp Tech Limited Partnership in patent infringement litigation against Bank of America, N.A. This lawsuit was filed in August 2021 before the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas in Sherman and involved the same five patents as the Wapp case against Wells Fargo. See the case described immediately above. Before the notice of settlement was filed in December 2022, Heim, Payne & Chorush secured a Markman ruling on numerous issues in favor of Wapp. 
  • Red Rock Analytics LLC v. Samsung Electronics America, Inc., et al. Red Rock Analytics filed a patent lawsuit in 2017 against various Samsung entities in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas in Marshall. Red Rock was represented by Les as lead counsel and several other attorneys at Heim, Payne & Chorush. Red Rock’s patent covers wireless transceivers, including transceivers used in cellular and Wi-Fi communications. The infringement allegations were directed against various Samsung wireless products, including smartphones and tablets. During the case, Samsung and a third party filed four separate inter partes review (IPR) petitions. Les and the Heim, Payne & Chorush team successfully defeated the IPR petitions, all of which were denied. A Final Judgment in Red Rock’s favor was entered in April 2019.
  • Red Rock Analytics LLC v. Apple Inc. After its case against Samsung, Red Rock Analytics filed a subsequent patent lawsuit in 2019 against Apple Inc. Mr. Payne again served as lead counsel. The infringement allegations were directed against various Apple wireless products, including smartphones and tablets. In 2020, the case was resolved during Markman briefing.
  • Weatherford Technology Holdings, Inc. and Weatherford US, LP v. Tesco Corporation, Tesco Corporation (US), and Tesco Offshore Services, Inc. Les represented Weatherford U.S. L.P. as lead counsel in a patent case brought in 2017 against Tesco Corporation (now owned by Nabors Industries Ltd.). The technology involved a Weatherford patent covering equipment used in downhole oil and gas operations. Les and other attorneys at Heim, Payne & Chorush obtained favorable Markman rulings and successfully defeated a mandamus petition on various venue issues at the Federal Circuit. The case was tried before a jury in December 2018. On the fourth day of trial, a favorable settlement was reached during Les’ cross-examination of Tesco’s damages expert.
  • Wi-LAN, Inc., Wi-LAN USA, Inc., and Wi-LAN Labs, Inc. v. LG Electronics, Inc., LG Electronics USA., Inc., and LG Electronics Mobilecomm USA., Inc. Les served as lead counsel for WiLAN Inc. and WiLAN USA, Inc. in a case filed in 2017 against LG Electronics in the Southern District of California. WiLAN’s asserted patents covered various features of LTE/4G and 5G cellular technology. In May 2019, the Court issued a Markman order in favor of WiLAN on over 30 issues.  In parallel with the lawsuit, Les and his team at Heim, Payne & Chorush defeated numerous IPRs filed by LG, which allowed WiLAN to continue to enforce those patents in the litigation. The case was favorably resolved shortly before trial in early 2020.
  • Rapid Completions LLC v. Weatherford U.S. L.P. Over a five-year period from 2015-2020, Les represented Weatherford U.S. L.P. as lead counsel in a case brought by Rapid Completions LLC in the Tyler division of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. Weatherford was accused of infringing multiple patents directed to downhole fracking procedures and equipment used in the oil and gas industry. Rapid Completions sought tens of millions of dollars in damages against Weatherford. In response, Les’ team at Heim, Payne & Chorush filed five IPR petitions, all of which were granted. The PTAB issued final decisions invalidating all asserted claims that Weatherford was accused of infringing. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit subsequently affirmed the PTAB’s invalidity rulings. As a result, Rapid Completions’ lawsuit claims were dismissed with prejudice in October 2020.
  • Dataquill Limited v. ZTE USA, Inc On June 18, 2015, a jury in Marshall, Texas, returned a verdict in favor of Dataquill Limited on patent claims asserted against ZTE USA (the fourth-largest smartphone manufacturer in the U.S. at the time). Other cases brought by Dataquill against Apple and Huawei were resolved before trial. The Dataquill patents concern smartphone technology and were asserted against ZTE’s Android smartphones. The jury found that all asserted claims were valid and infringed before awarding Dataquill $31.5 million in damages. This was the 12th largest verdict in Texas in 2015 and the 59th largest nationally, according to VerdictSearch. Les served as co-lead counsel for Dataquill and tried the case with other attorneys from Heim, Payne & Chorush and Susman Godfrey.
  • Commil USA, LLC v. Cisco Systems, Inc.From 2011-2015, Les represented Commil USA in its patent infringement claims against Cisco concerning wireless technology. On May 26, 2015, the Supreme Court issued a 6-2 decision in favor of Commil, several years after a trial that is described further below. In this landmark decision, the Supreme Court held that an accused infringer’s good faith belief in patent invalidity is not a defense to inducing infringement under Section 271(b) of the Patent Statute.
  • Two-Way Media, LLC v. AT&T Inc., et al.In numerous cases, Les was co-lead counsel for Two-Way Media. On March 20, 2013, a jury in San Antonio returned a verdict in favor of Two-Way Media on patent claims asserted against several AT&T entities. The TWM patents concern audio and video streaming and were asserted against AT&T’s U-verse television service (which employs Microsoft’s Mediaroom software). The jury found that AT&T infringed the patent claims under the doctrine of equivalents. The jury further found that AT&T had not proven the patent claims invalid and awarded substantial damages that resulted in a Final Judgment of $40 million in favor of Two-Way Media. This was the 7th largest verdict in Texas during 2013, according to VerdictSearch. Les (along with Mike Heim) served as co-lead counsel for Two-Way Media and tried the case with other attorneys from Heim, Payne & Chorush and Susman Godfrey. On March 19, 2015, the Federal Circuit affirmed the $40 million judgment in favor of Two-Way Media. Les argued for Two-Way Media before the Federal Circuit in December 2014.
  • Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation v. Lenovo Inc., Broadcom, Atheros (now Qualcomm), et al. In 2010-2012, Les and other attorneys from Heim, Payne & Chorush represented the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Australia’s national science agency, in patent litigation suits brought against major players in the Wi-Fi chip market (such as Broadcom and Atheros), as well as the major carriers AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile. CSIRO is regarded as a pioneer in wireless local area networking technology. As reported, these cases were settled shortly before trial for over $200 million.
  • Fractus, S.A. v. Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., et al.On May 23, 2011, a jury in Tyler returned a verdict in favor of Fractus, S.A., an antenna company based in Barcelona, Spain, on all trial claims asserted against Samsung. The claims were spread across four related patents in Fractus’ Multilevel Patent family, generally covering multiband antennas used in portable communication devices, such as cell phones. The jury found that Samsung infringed the claims literally and under the doctrine of equivalents, as well as finding Samsung’s infringement willful. After finding that Samsung had not proven the patent claims invalid, the jury awarded more than $23 million in damages in favor of Fractus, S.A. This was the 10th largest jury verdict in Texas during 2011, according to VerdictSearch. After enhancing damages and awarding attorneys’ fees, the Court entered Final Judgment for Fractus totaling more than $38 million. The HPC team representing Fractus included Les and Mike Heim, who worked with attorneys from Susman Godfrey. Before trial, the Fractus legal team also assisted in licensing the Fractus patent portfolio to other defendants.
  • Commil, USA v. Cisco Systems, Inc.On April 8, 2011, a jury in Marshall, Texas, returned a verdict in favor of Commil USA, LLC on all infringement claims asserted against Cisco Systems, Inc. The jury, which deliberated less than two hours, decided Cisco induced infringement on a patent for wireless technology developed by three Israeli engineers and awarded Commil damages in the amount of roughly $64 million. This was the 7th largest jury verdict in Texas during 2011, according to VerdictSearch. After awarding pre-judgment interest, the Court entered Final Judgment in favor of Commil of over $74 million. Les represented Commil at trial and worked with trial counsel from Sayles Werbner (Mark Werbner & Dick Sayles) to achieve this result.
  • Vasudevan Software, Inc. vs. IBM Corp. and Oracle Corp.Plaintiff Vasudevan Software Inc. (“VSi”) owns the rights to several database patents that were asserted in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. VSi alleged that IBM infringed the patents by making, using, selling, or importing InfoSphere Warehouse and Cognos Software products. VSi also alleged that Oracle infringed the patents by making, using, selling, or importing the Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition Plus, among other products. The case was settled in the fall of 2011 after a favorable Markman ruling.
  • Halliburton Energy Services, Inc. v. Packers Plus, et al.From 2004-2008, Les served as lead counsel for Halliburton against Packers Plus based on trade secret misappropriation and breach of contract claims, among others. The case was brought in state court in Midland, Texas. Several former Halliburton employees left Halliburton and formed Packers Plus to compete for fracking jobs in Canada and the United States. The technology at issue related to equipment and procedures for fracking operations. The case settled favorably for Halliburton the morning before jury selection.
  • Two-Way Media vs. AOLLes and other attorneys from HPC and Susman Godfrey represented Two-Way Media in a patent suit against AOL involving audio and video streaming patents. After obtaining a favorable Markman ruling, the case was tried in Corpus Christi in the fall of 2007. A favorable settlement was reached during the trial.
  • MicroUnity Systems Engineering, Inc. v. Intel & DellMicroUnity filed suit against Intel Corporation, alleging that Intel’s Pentium III, Pentium 4, and Pentium M processors infringed MicroUnity’s patents covering its “mediaprocessor” technology. MicroUnity also sued Dell, Inc. for Dell’s use of allegedly infringing Intel processors. In October 2005, one month before the trial was set to begin, MicroUnity, Intel, and Dell settled. Intel publicly disclosed the settlement’s financial terms as $300 million in its Third Quarter 2005 10-Q.
Awards & Honors
  • Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America, 2023, Intellectual Property Litigation and Patent Litigation
  • Named Top 1000 Leading IP Professional in Intellectual Asset Management’s (IAM) Patent 1000, 2020-2021
  • Chambers USA, 2020-2022, Leading Lawyers in America
  • The National Law Journal, Plaintiffs’ Lawyer Trailblazers, 2021
  • Texas Lawyer, Texas Trailblazers, 2020
  • H Texas Magazine, Best Lawyers in Houston, 2006, 2010-2011, 2013-2019
  • Texas Super Lawyers by Thomson Reuters, 2012-Present
  • Texas Rising Stars by Thomson Reuters/Super Lawyers, as published in Texas Monthly, 2004-2006
  • Preeminent AV Rated by Martindale Hubble
  • Best Lawyers in America (U.S. News & World Report), 2018-2023
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