Melody Drummond Hansen

Melody Drummond Hansen is an Intellectual Property and Technology Partner in O’Melveny’s Silicon Valley office. An experienced litigator, Melody has tried cases in federal and state courts, the US International Trade Commission, and the US Patent & Trademark Office. With over a decade of experience in technologies from cameras and streaming video to voice recognition and autonomous vehicles, she thrives at the frontiers of technology and law.

Melody guides established market leaders and emerging companies alike through patent, data security, trade secret, privacy, copyright, trademark, contract, and unfair competition matters, and helps them overcome regulatory hurdles. Melody has litigated and advised clients in matters involving diverse technologies including avionics, mobile telecommunications standards, networked devices, internet content delivery architectures, semiconductors, secure payment processing, and consumer products, with experience in both hardware and software.

As Chair of the firm’s Automated & Connected Vehicles Industry Group, Melody is a thought leader in the developing law for autonomous vehicles, and she advises companies on litigation risk, data security and privacy, regulatory compliance, and state and federal agency investigations.

Melody has been quoted and published on autonomous vehicles in publications including CNN, The Recorder, and Law360. She also is a member of the Editorial Board of The Journal of Robotics, Artificial Intelligence & Law.

Experience:

• Representing smart and connected home solutions leader in patent litigation accusing home security and connected home devices and mobile applications (E.D. Tex.)
  Advising data solutions company regarding developing standards and practices regarding data solutions for automated and connected vehicles
• Advising autonomous vehicle technology company in responding to California DMV and U.S. National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration inquiries regarding product under development, open source research software, and advertising
• Advising global leader in connected car technology, audio, cloud services, and IoT solutions regarding multiple intellectual property matters, including advice regarding licensing, supplier agreements, and audio and wireless standards
• Advised autonomous truck technology company regarding testing permits in multiple states, accident response, and data preservation
• Representing leading Internet search company in patent litigation asserting eleven patents related to user interface, streaming video and audio, and delivery and navigation of Internet content (N.D. Cal.)
• Represented leading premium streaming service in licensing dispute and declaratory action for non-infringement of on-demand video programming over an internet connection (over-the-top) services
• Represented premier global payments technology company in litigation related to a significant data security breach and enforcement of risk-management programs, including claims for breach of contract and under California unfair competition law (M.D. Tenn.)
• Advised industry-leading aerospace company regarding multiple intellectual-property and antitrust related matters

Admissions:

• California
• District of Columbia
• Illinois

Education:

• University of Chicago, J.D.: cum laude; Order of the Coif
• Oxford University, MSc, Comparative and International Education: with distinction
• Georgetown University, A.B., American Studies: summa cum laude; John Carroll Scholar; Phi Beta Kappa

Member:

• Co-Chair, Bar Association of San Francisco Intellectual Property Executive Committee
• American Bar Association Section of Intellectual Property Law
• International Bar Association Intellectual Property Communications and Technology Section