Mark Vorder-Bruegge is a member of the Firm's Intellectual Property Practice Group. Throughout his 40-plus years as a trial lawyer and legal counselor, Mark's work has focused on client needs in complex problems of intellectual property, corporate growth and governance, accounting and securities controversies, professional liability, and other business disputes. During the past twenty years, Mark has concentrated his practice in patent infringement and trade secret misappropriation litigation. He also assists clients with licensing, related transactions, and performance issues regarding software and other intellectual property. His client service philosophy embraces the most modern support technologies (including secure Artificial Intelligence tools) for cost-efficiency, strict alignment with client business objectives, and concurrent faithfulness to traditional ethical standards with respect to the fairness and reasonableness of legal fees. Mark also serves as Associate General Counsel to the Firm and a member of its Information Security Committee. He previously served as the Firm's Partner-in-Charge of Technology.

Professional Experience

Law Clerk to the late Honorable Harry W. Wellford, United States District Judge, Western District of Tennessee

Education

J.D., Vanderbilt University (1978)

B.A. University of Virginia (1975)

Distinctions

• Fellow, American College of Trial Lawyers
• Woodward/White’s The Best Lawyers in America® in the areas of Commercial Litigation, Intellectual Property Litigation and Securities Litigation 2008-present
• Fellow, American College ofTrial Lawyers; member, Legal Ethics and Professionalism Committee
• Woodward/White's The Best Lawyers in America® in the areas of Commercial Litigation, Intellectual Property Litigation and Securities Litigation 2008-present
• Best Lawyers® 2016-2017 Memphis Litigation - Intellectual Property "Lawyer of the Year"
• Best Lawyers® 2023 Memphis Litigation - Securities "Lawyer of the Year"
• Mid-South Super Lawyers in the area of Intellectual Property Litigation, 2008-�, - present
• Mid-South Super Lawyers Top 100 in Tennessee and Top 50 in Memphis, 2018-2019, 2021
• Recognized as a Top Lawyer in the American Lawyer/Corporate Counsel Annual Guide to Commercial Litigation, 2011
• Outstanding Oralist, Vanderbilt Law School
• Highest Professional Rating (AV®) by Martindale-Hubbel

Professional Activities

• Standing Local Rules Committee, United States District Court (W.D. Tenn.)
• American Inns of Court (Memphis Chapter President 2009-10)
• Tennessee Bar Association's Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility, Member 2003-Present, Chair Commencing 2024
• Memphis Lawyers Journal Club
• Former Member and Secretary-Treasurer, Tennessee Supreme Court Commission on Lawyers Assistance (TLAP)

Mark has represented business, institutional, and individual clients for more than 40 years in all of the federal and state trial and appellate courts in Memphis, and federal and state trial courts in numerous other venues throughout the U.S., including Delaware, Arkansas, Mississippi, Florida, Oklahoma, Utah, California, and Idaho; and the U.S Courts of Appeal for the Sixth, Ninth, Tenth, and Federal Circuits. Mark also has resolved hundreds of controversies through arbitration or mediation.

Illustrative Cases

Smith & Nephew, v. Zimmer, Inc. (Patent Litigation - W.D. Tenn.).

Smith & Nephew, v. Synthes, Inc. (Patent Litigation - W.D. Tenn.).

Smith & Nephew, v. Stryker Corp. (Patent Litigation - (W.D.Tenn.).

Karl Storz Smith & Nephew, (Patent Litigation - W.D. Tenn.).

Storm Products Ebonite (Patent Litigation - Utah).

Brunswick Ebonite (Patent Litigation - D.).

Smith & Nephew, v. Stryker/Howmedica (Patent Litigation - W.D. Tenn.).

• Innovative Solutions and Support Kollsman, et (Patent and Trade Secret Litigation - W.D. Tenn.).
• G. Weeks & Securities Fraud Litigation (W.D. Tenn.).
• Hibernia National Bank FDIC (W.D. and 10th Circuit) (Loan participation controversy in failed bank liquidation).
• Pullman, Incorporated Abex Corp. (New defense cost indemnification right - Ct. Tenn.).
• Paine Webber Properties - Elkington & Keltner Loan Workout (Tenn.).
• ESM Government Accounting and Securities Fraud Litigation (S.D. ).
• Memphis Board of Education Grant Thornton, CPA's (Accounting fraud litigation - D. Fla.).
• Fidata (Bradford Trust) Securities Litigation (S.D. ).
• Complex Commercial Loan Workouts for Regions Financial
• Morrison Knudsen Securities Fraud Litigation (D. Idaho).
• William Tanner Caplin & Drysdale (Legal malpractice defense - D. Tenn.).
• Memphis Jet Center Cessna Aircraft (Antitrust Litigation - D. Tenn.).
• Seessel Holdings, Bruno's, et al. (Corporate M&A dispute - W.D. Tenn.).
• FDIC Union Planters Corporation (Bank acquisition litigation - M.D. ).
• Huey Deloitte, Haskins & Sells (now Deloitte Touche) (Accounting malpractice litigation - D. Tenn.).
• RTC Pannell Kerr Foster, CPA's (Accounting malpractice litigation - D. Tenn.).
• Concord/EFS (now First Data ) Merchant Credit Card Class Action (Tenn.).
• Orthopaedic Implant Device Antitrust Class Actions (MDL - Ind.).
• Anderson-Tully Federal Insurance Co. and Aon (Insurance coverage - W.D. Tenn.).
• DuPont ERISA Class Action Litigation (M.D. ).
• Smith & Nephew, v. DePuy (Non-compete litigation - W.D. Tenn.).
• Smith & Nephew, Inc. v. Stryker/Howmedica (Patent Litigation - W.D. Tenn.).
• HWJ Designs for Agribusiness L.P. Brown Co. (Patent Litigation - E.D. Calif.)
• Undercover, v. Rough Country LLC (Patent Litigation - W.D. Tenn.)
• Truxedo v. Rough Country LLC (Patent Litigation - W.D. Tenn.)
• Hydrafacial LLC Aesthetic Management Partners (Patent Litigation - W.D. Tenn.)
• Aortic Innovations LLC Edwards Lifesciences Corp. (Patent Litigation - D. Del.)
• Medtronic Sofamor Danek USA Rick Sasso, M.D. (Trade Secret Litigation - Shelby County, Tenn. Chancery)
• Flexiworld Technologies, v. Brother International Corp. (Patent Litigation - W.D. Tenn.)
• Balkrishna Industries, v. Bridgestone Brands (Patent Litigation - M.D. Tenn.)
• PIPStek LLC Biolase, Inc. (Patent Litigation - D. Del.)
• Freedom Underwriters WT Holdings, Inc. (Corporate M&A - Del. Chancery)
• BE Technology LLC Consolidated Patent Litigation (Local Co-Counsel for 12 of 19 defendants, including Google, Motorola, Sony, Apple, Amazon, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pandora, and Barnes & Noble - W.D. Tenn.)
• Acacia Research and Unified Messaging Solutions v. First Horizon (Patent Litigation - M.D. Tenn.)
• TAMA Plastics Industry L.P. Brown Co. (Patent Litigation - D. Del.)
• Buckman Laboratories Solenis Technologies, LP (Patent Litigation - W.D. Tenn.)
• AngleFix Tech LLC Smith & Nephew, Inc. (Patent Litigation - W.D. Tenn.)
• Medldea LLC Smith & Nephew, Inc. (Patent Litigation - W.D. Tenn.)

Representative Clients

• Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
• Board of Education, Memphis City Schools
• Regions Financial Corporation
• Cessna Aircraft Company
• Smith & Nephew,
• Aon
• DuPont de Nemours & Co.
• Ebonite Corporation
• AFLAC
• ServiceMaster, LP
• University of Memphis
• Bank of America
• Hard Rock Cafe
• Memphis Light, Gas & Water Division
• Mueller Industries,
• Pfizer, Inc.
• Edwards Lifesciences
• Medtronic Sofamor Danek USA
• Brother International
• Deloitte & Touche
• Google LLC
• Motorola Mobility
• Sony
• Apple
• Amazon

News

Blog Posts

Mr. Vorder-Bruegge speaks and writes frequently on complex litigation management, legal technology, corporate loss prevention, and ethics, and intellectual property. Seminar presentations during the past fifteen years include:

• "Ethical Issues and Answers for Inside Counsel," Firm Annual Memphis Corporate Counsel Seminar, 2009 - 2026
• "Ethical Issues and Answers for Inside Counsel," Firm Annual Nashville Corporate Counsel Seminar, 2013-2025
• "Are you a 'Privileged Character?' Firm In-House Counsel Litigation Seminar, November 2016
• ''The Non-Practicing Patent Owner: Einstein or Frankenstein? A reasoned analysis of harmony and collision between innovation, monetization, and dispute resolution ", Firm Memphis Corporate Counsel Seminar, 20

• Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Computer Society
• The Sedona Conference
• Electronic Discovery Reference Model (EDRM)
• Director and Secretary-Treasurer, TLAP Foundation,
• Director and past President of Ronald McDonald House Charities of Memphis, , which houses patients of St.Jude Children's Research Hospital
• Former President, Central Gardens Area Association