Mark A. Klapow

Partner

Overview

Mark Klapow, a Chambers-ranked trade secret litigator, has more than 25 years of experience representing startups and Fortune 500 companies in “bet the company” litigation matters. Mark’s clients have included household names like Alcoa, AT&T, Caterpillar, Dow Chemical, Ericsson, ExxonMobil, Intel, Lenovo, Molson Coors, Stone X, and Western Union, where he handles intellectual property, commercial litigation, and other complex disputes nationwide.

In 2025, Chambers USA highlighted Mark’s “proven strength on joint patent and trade secrets disputes”, building on his 2024 World Intellectual Property Review (WIPR) “Highly Recommended” ranking. He has been called a “terrific winning lawyer” by a major financial client, while a distinguished peer says he “always seems to be on one of these big trade secrets cases.” One client’s reasons for choosing the firm was their “excellent success record with Mark Klapow.”

Mark is a thought leader in the trade secrets legal community, including serving on the Trade Secrets Steering Committee of the Sedona Conference and co-chairing the ABA-IPL Trade Secrets and Interferences with Contracts Committee. He served as chair of the of AIPLA Trade Secret Law Committee and speaks at its conference every year. He is also an editor of Crowell’s Trade Secrets Trends blog.

Mark served as a co-chair of the firm’s Litigation Group. Mark is the creator and editor of Crowell's annual Litigation Forecast, a guide for in-house counsel managing litigation in the coming year.

Mark serves as outside general counsel for the Hispanic Heritage Foundation. Outside of the office, he is president of Adat Shalom and on the board of the AJC DC region.

Mark and his family live in Somerset, MD. He is a lifelong "Deadhead."

Career & Education

    • Washington University in St. Louis, B.A., 1996
    • Syracuse University College of Law, J.D., cum laude, 1999
    • Washington University in St. Louis, B.A., 1996
    • Syracuse University College of Law, J.D., cum laude, 1999
    • District of Columbia
    • New York
    • Connecticut
    • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
    • U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
    • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
    • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
    • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
    • U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
    • U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois
    • U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado
    • U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
    • U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland
    • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
    • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
    • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa
    • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
    • District of Columbia
    • New York
    • Connecticut
    • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
    • U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
    • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
    • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
    • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
    • U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
    • U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois
    • U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado
    • U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
    • U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland
    • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
    • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
    • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa
    • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
  • Professional Activities and Memberships

    • Co-Chair, ABA-Intellectual Property Law Trade Secrets and Interferences with Contracts Committee
    • Chair (former), AIPLA Trade Secret Law Committee
    • Steering Committee, Sedona Conference Trade Secrets (Working Group 12)
    • Outside General Counsel, Hispanic Heritage Foundation
    • Outside General Counsel (former), Adat Shalom Reconstructionist Congregation
    • The American Bar Foundation: Fellow

    Professional Activities and Memberships

    • Co-Chair, ABA-Intellectual Property Law Trade Secrets and Interferences with Contracts Committee
    • Chair (former), AIPLA Trade Secret Law Committee
    • Steering Committee, Sedona Conference Trade Secrets (Working Group 12)
    • Outside General Counsel, Hispanic Heritage Foundation
    • Outside General Counsel (former), Adat Shalom Reconstructionist Congregation
    • The American Bar Foundation: Fellow

Mark's Insights

Firm News | 11 min read | 06.05.25

Crowell Attains Leading Rankings in Chambers USA 2025

Washington – June 5, 2025: Crowell & Moring earned 80 rankings for 71 lawyers, as well as 43 national and statewide practice area rankings, in the Chambers USA 2025 guide. The rankings are driven by independent interviews of clients and lawyers at peer firms.

Representative Matters

  • C3.ai v. Cummins Engine Co. Counsel for leading developer and provider of enterprise AI applications in trade secret dispute. Pending in Delaware state court. (2025)
  • Thompson Reuters v. ROSS Intelligence. Counsel for AI firm in landmark copyright case regarding Westlaw content. On appeal in the Third Circuit. (2025)
  • Xinuos v. IBM and RedHat. Counsel in antitrust and copyright case regarding operating system market. On appeal in the Second Circuit. (2025)
  • MillerCoors v. Anheuser-Busch. Counsel for MillerCoors defending trade secret allegations made by Anheuser-Busch related to the Bud Light corn syrup campaign launched for the Super Bowl. Dismissed by Wisconsin federal court. (2022)
  • AllRounds v. Carta et al. Counsel for Carta (fka eShares) defending trade secret and patent dispute over financial platforms for capitalization table management, valuation, and trading. Plaintiff accepted a walk-away settlement after a California federal court struck more than half its patent case and in the face of summary judgment. (2022)
  • Khoros v. Lenovo. Counsel for Lenovo against former vendor in trade secret litigation in California federal court. Negotiated favorable resolution (2021).
  • Future Proof v. Molson Coors. Counsel for Molson Coors against alleged competitor in hard seltzer market in brand dispute. Defeated preliminary injunction in Texas federal court. Affirmed by the Fifth Circuit. Recognized as a Top 10 Trademark Ruling of 2020. (2021)
  • StoneX Group v. Ag Hedger. Counsel for Fortune 200 financial services company. Obtained preliminary injunction after evidentiary hearing, then obtained a permanent injunction. (2021)
  • Arconic v. Novelis. Counsel for Arconic (fka Alcoa) against key competitor in trade secret misappropriation case involving aluminum bonding technology for automotive applications.
  • Western Union v. Paymentus Group. Counsel for Western Union in trade secret and poaching case. Obtained permanent injunction in Illinois federal court.
  • TCL v. Ericsson. Counsel for Ericsson in first of its kind lawsuit alleging breach of FRAND licensing commitment on standard essential telecom patents. Won dismissal of antitrust claims in California federal court. IP verdict reversed on appeal after trial.
  • High frequency trading platform dispute. Counsel in parallel New York and Boston arbitrations with related litigation in Texas state court. Prevailed on each of five TROs. Won eight-figure award.
  • Dow Corning v. NuSil Technology. Counsel for Dow Corning in trade secret case against key competitor. Won TRO in Michigan state court and, after PI hearing, obtained favorable settlement.
  • Metroil Inc. v. ExxonMobil. Counsel for ExxonMobil in test cases on issues of first impression. Won dismissal in D.C. federal court. Affirmed on appeal (panel included former Judges Merrick Garland and Brett Kavanaugh).

Mark's Insights

Firm News | 11 min read | 06.05.25

Crowell Attains Leading Rankings in Chambers USA 2025

Washington – June 5, 2025: Crowell & Moring earned 80 rankings for 71 lawyers, as well as 43 national and statewide practice area rankings, in the Chambers USA 2025 guide. The rankings are driven by independent interviews of clients and lawyers at peer firms.

Mark's Insights

Firm News | 11 min read | 06.05.25

Crowell Attains Leading Rankings in Chambers USA 2025

Washington – June 5, 2025: Crowell & Moring earned 80 rankings for 71 lawyers, as well as 43 national and statewide practice area rankings, in the Chambers USA 2025 guide. The rankings are driven by independent interviews of clients and lawyers at peer firms.