Mr. Murphy is an associate in the Intellectual Property Practice Group, Life Sciences Team, and Appellate Practice Team. He is located in the firm's Del Mar office.

Areas of Practice

Mr. Murphy's primary practice focuses on intellectual property and life sciences matters. Mr. Murphy's intellectual property experience includes representing clients in patent, copyright, trademark and trade secret litigation as well as intellectual property transactions and prosecution projects. In addition to intellectual property matters, Mr. Murphy's practice includes working with life sciences clients on transactional and regulatory matters, including internal investigations and representation of life sciences companies before federal regulatory bodies.

Mr. Murphy has tried multiple cases, both to a jury and before the bench. His trial experience includes making the opening statement, cross-examining witnesses, giving the closing argument, and arguing and defending against motions for judgment as a matter of law. Mr. Murphy’s pretrial experience ranges across all aspects of federal and state court practice, from making Markman (patent claim construction) and summary judgment arguments in federal court, to taking and defending over 50 depositions, to defending against anti-slapp motions in state court. Mr. Murphy has represented clients in court in intellectual property cases involving patents, copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, and unfair competition. Technologies in these cases have included computerized defense systems, copyrighted and patented software, wireless handsets and LCD screens, industrial printers, agricultural processing, dietary supplements, needle-less valves for clinical use, and polymer encapsulation.

In addition to his litigation experience, Mr. Murphy has drafted and negotiated numerous transactional agreements for pharmaceutical and medical device clients. These include, asset transfer agreements, master service agreements, clinical trial research agreements, non-disclosure agreements, and license agreements. Mr. Murphy has also assisted clients with seeking patent protection for experimental medical devices related to cancer detection and cognitive brain function.

Mr. Murphy joined the firm after serving for one year as a judicial clerk to the Honorable Rudi M. Brewster in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California. During Mr. Murphy's clerkship, the Court's docket was heavily weighted toward intellectual property cases. As a result, Mr. Murphy observed numerous intellectual property matters, including bench and jury patent trials, numerous motions regarding intellectual property issues, and a multitude of Markman hearings. The technologies at issue included, among other things, two-sided immunoassays, needle-free intravenous delivery systems, software related to digital and audio compression, cellular telephone tuning and reception, and water purification.

Prior to clerking for Judge Brewster, Mr. Murphy worked in the intellectual property litigation department of a national law firm where he worked on matters before the International Trade Commission, the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and United States District Courts. These matters covered a wide range of technologies including pharmaceutical drug delivery systems, electrical cells, liquid crystal displays, and mechanical valves. Mr. Murphy also prepared filings for submission to the United States Patent and Trademark Office and to the Chinese National Patent Office.

Mr. Murphy holds a degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of California at Berkeley. Upon completion of his undergraduate studies Mr. Murphy worked in the medical device and pharmaceutical industries at Schering Plough Research Institute, Statprobe, Inc., and Axon Instruments, Inc. where he reviewed and supervised clinical research on medical devices and investigational new drugs for compliance with Food and Drug Administration and Internal Conference on Harmonization regulations. During this period Mr. Murphy prepared 510k documents for submission to the FDA, reviewed clinical research related to a wide variety of medical devices and pharmaceutical agents, and sat on Schering Plough Research Institute's Standard Operation Procedure Committee and Training Committee.

Mr. Murphy's life sciences clients have included Amgen, Sequenom, Halozyme, Omni Life Sciences, SkyePharma, MicroIslet, NeuroSystec, and Bioness.