The rapid-fire, high-stakes patent litigation that unfolds at the U.S. International Trade Commission can be stressful under normal circumstances. With the potential for tariffs or full-on import bans in cases where infringement is found, the venue can be something of a highwire sprint for defense counsel.

This week’s Litigators of the Week, Josh Krevitt and Stuart Rosenberg from Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and Scott Stevens from Alston & Bird, have dealt with all that and then some since January. Their clients, Fitbit and Garmin respectively, were hit with claims at the ITC early last year by rival Philips accusing them of infringing patents covering technology related to smartwatch and fitness tracker functions such as motion tracking and alarm reporting. The joint defense team prepared for an October bench trial remotely as the pandemic took hold and opted to try the case from separate locations.