Trade Secrets
Litigation
Crowell & Moring has substantial depth and experience litigating trade secret disputes. Our experience runs the full gamut of prosecuting and defending civil actions for emergency injunctive relief based on alleged misappropriation of trade secrets, violations of non-competition and non-solicitation agreements, employee raiding, breach of fiduciary duty, tortious interference with contract and economic advantage. We have litigated extensively issues under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, state trade secret statutes, and pursued criminal sanctions under the Economic Espionage Act of 1996, among other statutes. We have likewise litigated the full range of relevant defenses and counterclaims, ranging from the inevitable disclosure doctrine, to an independent development defense, to "anti-competition" (antitrust) counterclaims.
Our Trade Secrets team's litigation and trial experience is broad and deep, spanning both a wide range of technologies, clients, and industries such as aerospace, automotive, chemical, defense, financial services, management consulting, manufacturing and technology. Our clients are equally diverse and include Fortune 10 to 500 companies, as well as individuals in certain circumstances.
Our team's trial experience spans diverse geographies as well. With lawyers in New York, California and Washington, our domestic reach extends to both coasts and the multitude of jurisdictions in between.
Beyond the United States, we have lawyers on the ground in London, Brussels and Egypt, and extensive networks that can provide sound guidance and support in both litigation and counseling throughout Latin America, Europe, and the Middle East. We also collaborate with our affiliated firm, C&M International, on trade secret issues outside the United States, particularly in Asia. Cases with foreign defendants add extra complexities and considerations, including issues in discovery (foreign subpoenas and depositions), choice of law, and export control. A significant issue with international defendants is recovery -- configuring a case so that any damage award and injunctive relief from a United States court can be enforced in a foreign jurisdiction. We have successfully integrated these various issues in trade secret cases in several large matters with substantial success.
Criminal Investigations and Prosecutions
Because statutes giving rise to civil liability for trade secrets theft have close analogues in federal criminal law, parallel civil and criminal cases are common. Our attorneys have extensive experience in handling the complex dynamics of such parallel proceedings, whether the client is the alleged victim or the defendant. One key to our success is close teaming between the attorneys in our White Collar and Regulatory Enforcement practice group and other practice groups, providing the critical combination of procedural and substantive expertise.
From the perspective of the victim, it is often essential to ensure that trade secrets theft is promptly and effectively investigated and prosecuted by the authorities, and such criminal investigations can also generate numerous collateral benefits in the parallel civil litigation. Our attorneys know which federal law enforcement authorities to contact and how to work closely with them to ensure successful investigation and prosecution to the fullest possible extent.
From the perspective of the defendant, any civil litigation can quickly become overshadowed by a criminal investigation and all of the complications it can create. Effectively managing a criminal investigation to minimize its impact requires the sort of special expertise that attorneys in our White Collar and Regulatory Enforcement Practice bring to bear on behalf of clients every day, including in trade secrets theft cases which often involve the same federal authorities we have worked with on behalf of victims.
Proactive Counseling and Audits
The firm's trade secrets expertise is not limited to litigating high‑profile disputes. Our Trade Secrets team has broad and deep experience advising clients on the full range of trade secret issues. The team includes attorneys spanning the firm's intellectual property, labor and employment, corporate, and white collar practice areas. This multi-disciplinary approach allows us to guide our clients through all facets of trade secret preservation and protection strategies, beginning with the initial genesis of an idea through its development as a product.
Our experience and offering to clients includes:
- Auditing clients' intellectual property and safekeeping mechanisms to identify weaknesses and vulnerabilities;
- Counseling clients on best practices for securing trade secret protection pursuant to the Uniform Trade Secrets Act and related statutory and common law provisions;
- Assisting clients in the implementation and improvement of ESI management;
- Counseling clients and drafting policies governing appropriate employee on-boarding and off-boarding procedures, including enforceable non-competition, non-solicitation, and non-disclosure agreements, as well as procedures to ensure the collection, preservation and retrieval of confidential and protectable information from departing employees or agents;
- Drafting the full range of employment and related proprietary agreements and policies defining ownership rights to company-owned intellectual property;
- Advising clients regarding security measures that should be undertaken and adhered to to safeguard their intellectual property and related confidential and proprietary information; and
- Counseling clients through pre-litigation skirmishes in which they are accused of interfering with others' intellectual property rights.
Our team's expertise spans not only multiple practice areas, but diverse geographies as well. With lawyers in New York, California and Washington, our domestic reach extends to both coasts and the multitude of jurisdictions in between. Beyond the United States, we have lawyers on the ground in London, Brussels and Egypt, and extensive networks that can provide sound guidance and support in both litigation and counseling throughout Latin America, Europe, and the Middle East.