The Firm's history is inextricably entwined with the growth of technology in Silicon Valley: Fenwick & West incorporated Apple Computer in 1976 and took Oracle public in 1986. Since then, the firm has represented leading technology companies and underwriters in numerous high profile IPOs and led many landmark M&A transactions including the largest Internet merger in history (VeriSign's $21 billion acquisition of Network Solutions) and the largest Software merger in history (Symantec's $13 billion acquisition of VERITAS). Our intellectual property practice is continuously on the cutting edge of legal issues arising from emerging technologies, from the pioneering of shrinkwrap license agreements in the 1970s, to the creation of software development clean rooms in the 1980s, to being one of the first firms to advise and litigate numerous Internet-related IP issues that arose in the 1990s, including privacy, digital copyright, software patent and domain name issues. Among many other notable technology lawsuits, the Firm's litigators successfully defended Amazon.com's 1-Click® patent just in time for the 1999 holiday shopping season and successfully defended Elan Pharmaceuticals' patents on transgenic mice.
Founded in 1972, Fenwick & West is a full service law firm with four major "best of breed" practice groups including:
