Areas of Practice
Industries
Bar Admissions
- Texas
- Louisiana
Education
Loyola University New Orleans, J.D., cum laude
- Law Review 1996-1998, Editor 1997-1998
University of New Mexico, B.A.
Victor C. Johnson is a member of the Intellectual Property Practice Group in the Dallas, Texas office of Dykema. Mr. Johnson's practice focuses on IP litigation including patent, trademark, brand protection and trade secret misappropriation, as well as domain name disputes and other forms of unfair competition. He is also experienced in all aspects of complex commercial litigation and has significant experience in federal and state false claims act litigation. Mr. Johnson also has significant experience representing clients in whistleblower actions. Mr. Johnson has been the lead attorney on a wide variety of business litigation and intellectual property disputes for companies ranging in size from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies.
Immediately prior to joining Dykema, Mr. Johnson was a principal at a boutique litigation firm where he headed its IP Litigation and Brand Protection Group. He also spent 11 years with a large national intellectual property firm.
Representative Matters
IP CASES
ProTradeNet LLC v. Predictive Profiles Inc. (WDTX) - successfully defended client in week-long trial regarding TM infringement suit
360Mortgage v. Homebridge (WDTX) - successfully defended client in an week-long trial regarding IP dispute
Bose Corp. v. Vertigo Online (NDTX) - infringement action; obtained judgment of $1.25 million and permanent injunction.
BMC Software v. CrabbyHacker.com (SDTX) - infringement action arising from the circumvention of measures that controlled access to copyrighted material; obtained civil search & seizure and with U.S. Marshalls conducted raid to seize evidence; obtained Consent Judgment of $1 million and Permanent Injunction.
NDE Inc. v. Rainforest Creations (EDTX) - false advertising and misappropriation of business method case arising from the defendants’ palming off of plaintiff’s works; obtained $4.7 million jury verdict.
Represented 3Ci in breach of contract and fraud action against another national architectural firm. Obtained a jury verdict in excess of $4 million, including punitive damages.
Rodriguez v. Dallas Basketball Limited - represented Mark Cuban’s Dallas Mavericks basketball team in class action litigation seeking more than $100 million in damages. Case settled for less than 2% of claims.
U.S. Risk v. Lighthouse Programs, LLC – represented plaintiff in infringement case that resulted in $5,500,000 jury verdict. Verdict was listed in the top 40 jury verdicts of 2009 by the Texas Lawyer.
Shaw v. Yahoo!, Microsoft and Real Networks – Obtained summary judgment for Yahoo! in suit alleging that Microsoft’s and Real Network's multimedia applications, when used in combination with Yahoo!'s streaming media services, infringed the plaintiff’s patent.
Represented banking client against infringement claims on several patents in the field of electronic check conversion. Case settled favorably shortly after trial began.
Alcatel USA, Inc. v. Tekelec, Inc. (EDTX) – Obtained a favorable settlement for Alcatel by asserting two patents related to the routing of query messages by a signal transfer point in a telecommunications network.
National Presort, Inc. v. Bell & Howell Company Postal Systems, Inc. (NDTX) – Obtained an extremely favorable settlement for Bell & Howell in defense of a patent infringement suit involving mail sorting technology.
Texas Instruments Incorporated v. Intergraph Corporation (EDTX) – Obtained a favorable settlement for TI by asserting three patents related to computer clock speed control and an intelligent power switch and defending against three patents related to parallel processing.
Whistleblower Cases
U.S. v. ResCare, Inc. (NDTX) – Whistleblower action under the False Claims Act seeking more than $4.5 billion in damages. Case settled for less than 0.05 percent of the damages sought by the Government.
U.S. v. Driscoll Children’s Hospital (SDTX) - Obtained summary judgment for a client hospital on allegations of federal False Claims Act (FCA) violations in a whistleblower action in which the United States had intervened. The United States alleged that the client committed fraud, violated the FCA, and otherwise obtained overpayments from the government relating to cost reimbursements from the Texas Medicaid program. Following the grant of summary judgment in favor of the client on all fraud and FCA claims, the remaining claims settled for substantially less than the projected cost of defense.
State of Texas v. Driscoll Children's Hospital – represented defendant against claims under federal False Claims Act case in a whistleblower action alleging over $200,000,000 in damages. Case settled for a fraction of amount in controversy; hospital not required to submit to corporate integrity program.
United States of America, et al. v. Driscoll Children’s Hospital, et al. – represented defendant against claims under False Claims Act case in a whistleblower action alleging fraud by the hospital in seeking reimbursement by the Texas Medicaid program. Following summary judgment in favor of the hospital on all False Claims Act and fraud claims, the case settled for less than 1% of the alleged damages of $6,000,000.
U.S. v. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NDTX) - Represented insurance company on allegations of federal False Claims Act (FCA) violations in a whistleblower action. Conducted internal investigation, responded to document requests, and presented witnesses to government for interviews. Convinced government to decline intervention and obtained dismissal of suit.
U.S. v. Louisiana HomeHealth (WDLA) - Represented home-health care agency on allegations of federal False Claims Act (FCA) violations in a whistleblower action. Conducted internal investigation, responded to document requests and presented witnesses to government for interviews. Convinced government to decline intervention and obtained dismissal of suit.
U.S. v. University of Texas at Arlington (NDTX) - Represented university on allegations of federal False Claims Act (FCA) violations in a whistleblower action. Conducted internal investigation, responded to document requests and presented witnesses to government for interviews. Convinced government to decline intervention and obtained dismissal of suit.
In re Whistleblower (IRS) - represented confidential client as whistleblower of tax fraud to IRS. Client was credited for providing substantial assistance to the recovery of millions in back taxes and received substantial portion of the tax award.
Seminars & Speeches
- July 23, 2019
- Ethical Interactions with Judges On and Off the Bench, Dallas Bar AssociationApril 4, 2019
- May 15, 2018
- Building a Good Defense: Best Practices in Class Action Litigation, Moderator, Consero Corporate Litigation ForumOctober 10, 2017
- Trade Secrets: Protecting the Company's Crown Jewels in Litigation, Moderator, Consero Corporate Litigation ForumOctober 9, 2017
- Maximizing the Effectiveness and Impact of a Limited Anti-Counterfeiting Budget, 7th Annual Anti-Counterfeiting & Brand Protection East CoastSeptember 28, 2011
- Ask the Experts: What Would You Do? 30 Answers in 30 Minutes Anti-Counterfeiting & Brand Protection West CoastJanuary 26, 2011
Publications
- November 27, 2020IP Watchdog
- April 28, 2020Intellectual Property Magazine
- Authored by Ryan DavisFebruary 26, 2020Law360https://www.law360.com/articles/1247952/west-texas-cements-its-place-as-patent-hotbed
- Authored by Tiffany HuFebruary 24, 2020Law360https://www.law360.com/articles/1246694/in-his-1st-bench-trial-judge-albright-awards-3-6m-in-tm-suit
- May 2016The Copyright Lawyerhttp://www.trademarklawyermagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/The-Copyright-Lawyer-Issue-1.pdf
- September 25, 2014SerendIPityhttp://www.ip-lawblog.com/third-circuit-expands-octane-fitness-standard-to-trademark-cases_092614
- August 29, 2014Bloomberg BNA Patent, Trademark & Copyright Journal
- August 19, 2014SerendIPityhttp://www.ip-lawblog.com/understanding-the-risks-associated-with-the-use-of-virtual-currencies
- "Understanding the Risks Associated With the Use of Virtual Currencies"August 19, 2014Association of Corporate Counsel
- June 26, 2014SerendIPityhttp://www.ip-lawblog.com/Supreme-Court-Pulls-the-Plug-on-Aereos-Streaming-TV-Service-Holding-it-Illegal_6-2014
- "The King is Dead - And Overruled"September 19, 2011
- "Fighting Online Counterfeiters at Internet Speed"December 28, 2010
- "New Indictment of In-House Counsel Indicates Enhanced Efforts to Hold Corporate Executives Accountable for Food and Drug Law Violations"November 15, 2010
News
- July 28, 2020
- September 13, 2018
- April 24, 2018
- December 21, 2016
- March 4, 2015
- December 1, 2014
- Titled “SerendIPity,” Blog Will Cover IP Insights, Highlights and DelightsApril 2, 2014
- Themed “SerendIPity” Blog Will Provide Insights, Highlights and Delights from the IP WorldMarch 27, 2014
Press Releases
- October 19, 2020
- February 24, 2020
- September 3, 2019
- September 6, 2018
- September 5, 2017
- April 27, 2017
- September 6, 2016
- September 8, 2015
- Victor Johnson Marks Latest Move in Continued Expansion of Key MarketJuly 24, 2013
Memberships & Involvement
State Bar of Texas
American Bar Association Intellectual Property Section
Intellectual Property In-House Counsel Group
Brand Enforcement IP Professionals
Intellectual Property Owners Association, Anti-counterfeiting and Privacy Committee, Member
Dallas Bar Association, Judiciary & Legal Ethics Committee, Member
Texas Bar Foundation, Fellow
Awards & Recognition
Recognized by Texas Super Lawyers® for Intellectual Property Litigation, Intellectual Property, Civil Litigation: Defense, and Business Litigation, 2014-Present
Recognized by DMagazine as a Best Lawyer for Intellectual Property, 2016, 2018, and 2020
Recognized by DMagazine in The Best Lawyers Under 40
Named a Rising Star by Texas Monthly
Named a Rising Star by Law & Politics, 2006-2008
Named top trademark litigation practitioner in Texas by World Trademark Review 1000