Tyz Law Group

San Francisco

Intellectual Property Litigation

Tyz Law Group's webpage opens on the words "We love to litigate. And we know how to win."

"What sets us apart is that we are very committed to winning and results," said Ryan Tyz, the founder of the IP litigation firm. "I think that's what has got us to where we are." Results, he said, are "the best form of marketing."

The firm's approach to cases is to "dig in and know everything, the facts and the law, better than anyone else."

Tyz said he regards litigation as a competitive game. "The better you prepare yourself and understand the rules of the game [and] the moves you can make, the better suited you are to put yourself and your client in the situation to win."

Recent wins include the biggest copyright verdict in California last year. Following a four-week trial, a jury awarded $17.6 million to the creators of the top-ranked children's educational channel on YouTube against a Chinese competitor. Then, this past August, Tyz and his colleagues won another $6.7 million in fees and costs. Moonbug Entertainment Ltd., v. Babybus (Fujian) Network Technology Co. Ltd., 3:21-cv-06536 (N.D. Cal., filed Aug. 24, 2021).

Paralleling Tyz's view of litigation as a game, a large share of the firm's clients are video game companies. That part of the practice is headed by Jennifer Kelly, who is Tyz's wife. For instance, the firm represented Riot Games in a copyright case that settled earlier this year.

Early last year, the firm represented a Finnish mobile game developer in a putative class action that claimed "loot boxes" in video games amount to illegal gambling. Tyz succeeded in having the action dismissed and then argued an appeal before the 9th Circuit. The appellate court affirmed the dismissal just a month later. Mai v. Supercell Oy, 23-15144 (9th Cir., dec'd May 9, 2024).

In a different vein, it represents Fandom Inc., a website carrying information on pop culture, gaming, TV and film, in multiple consumer class actions raising privacy claims. Shah v. Fandom Inc., 3:24-cv-01062 (N.D. Cal., filed Feb. 21, 2024).

"Our clients are really cool," said the firm's Deborah Hedley. The boutique "is a little different because we have really interesting games clients, entertainment clients."

Another aspect of the Tyz Law Group that sets it apart is that "it's a fully remote firm," she said. Although the firm is headquartered in San Francisco, Hedley lives and works in Los Angeles. Tyz often works from an office in Larkspur.

The approach began when a member of the firm asked to move back to Florida where her family lived. Then, the firm hired an attorney in Chicago.

The change "opened up the talent pool" to lawyers from around the country, Tyz said. "So it was beneficial for the firm ... [and] beneficial for people who want to live where they want."

Every Monday, the firm meets online. "We're up to 15 people in the Zoom, so it looks like Hollywood Squares," Tyz said. The firm now comprises a dozen attorneys, including five brought on this year.

Many of the lawyers are "working moms who have really sophisticated legal practices," Hedley said. "I thought this was going to be my mommy job where I kind of worked less and did less, but I've done so much more than I ever thought I would."

Working remotely also means often working somewhat independently, according to Chieh Tung, who is in Oakland. As a result, she said, she has "a lot more ownership over the type of work that I do."

She joined the firm as a fifth-year lawyer but was able to bring a client along with her. That client, San Diego video technology company DivX, is now one of the firm's bigger clients, and Tung is the primary contact and case manager for it.

Tung, Tyz and Hedley are set to defend the company in a dispute over a licensing agreement in a trial in April. Top Victory Investments Ltd v. DivX LLC, 37-2022-00024579 (S.D. Super. Ct., filed June 23, 2022).

-- Don DeBenedictis