Trade Secrets Litigation

Related Professionals

Overview

National tier 1 ranking in Trade Secrets each year since 2009. - The Legal 500 United States

Attorneys in our Trade Secrets Litigation Practice Group have years of experience representing both plaintiffs and defendants in trade secrets matters in diverse industries. They draw upon the formidable depth of the intellectual property, commercial litigation and other practices to provide an approach tailored to the intricacies of each individual case.

Trade secret holders frequently seek expedited injunctive relief that can result in mini-trials at the beginning of cases. We can rapidly mobilize teams who work closely with clients, quickly get up to speed on the clients’ technology, and build persuasive case strategies because of our group’s size, sophistication and experience.

We have litigated the broad spectrum of trade secret disputes, ranging from outright theft to violation of various agreements, including employment, R&D, joint development, and technology transfer and know-how agreements. We have won significant victories for clients in these matters in federal and state courts and in arbitrations, and have worked collaboratively with law enforcement agencies to protect clients’ intellectual property. Our success is grounded in extensive jury and bench trial experience, and a sophisticated appellate practice to protect our clients’ successes at the trial level.



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Experience

Veitch v. Virgin Management USA, Inc., et al. (S.D. Fla.)
Represented Virgin Cruises in its defense against Colin Veitch, the retired CEO of Norwegian Cruise Lines. Veitch alleged Virgin Cruises pressured him out of a purported 2011 partnership and misappropriated his idea to launch a Virgin-branded cruise line built on two “Ultra Ships” and alleged breach of contract and unjust enrichment. Virgin Cruises denied the allegations saying that its business plan was independently developed by a team of industry veterans, and that most of the “trade secrets” and work product identified by Veitch were either public information that was well known to Virgin Cruises or work product to which Veitch could not claim ownership. Virgin Cruises also emphasized that its business plan was not meaningfully similar to Veitch’s, since it employs three ships far smaller than those Veitch proposed. A settlement was reached and Veitch dropped the suit in February 2016.
NRT New York LLC d/b/a Citi Habitats v. Urban Compass, Inc., and NRT New York LLC d/b/a The Corcoran Group v. Urban Compass, Inc., et al. (N.Y. Sup. Ct.)
Obtained settlement and dismissal of two trade secret misappropriation actions brought by NRT New York LLC against client Urban Compass, Inc. (Compass), a real estate start-up. In the first case, Kirkland successfully defended against Citi Habitats’ request for a temporary restraining order that would enjoin Compass from developing its own proprietary listings database. In the second case, Kirkland successfully defended against The Corcoran Group’s application for a temporary restraining order and Corcoran ultimately withdrew its request for a preliminary injunction.
TechForward, Inc. v. Best Buy Co., Inc., et al. (C.D. Cal.)
Represented TechForward in its lawsuit against Best Buy Co. alleging theft of trade secrets and breach of contract in connection with TechForward’s Guaranteed Buyback Plan. Following a seven-day trial in 2012, the jury returned a $33 million verdict in favor of TechForward for willful misappropriation of trade secrets.
Successfully defended a large, fast growing company against claims brought by its primary competitor alleging trade secret misappropriation, breach of contract, unjust enrichment, spoliation and related allegations of unfair competition. Following expedited discovery and a six-day arbitration trial, our client prevailed on all claims — a total victory.
INEOS BIO USA, LLC, et al. v. Coskata, Inc., et al. (Ill. Cir. Ct.)
Represented Coskata in a high-profile, biofuel industry trade secret misappropriation case brought under the Illinois Trade Secrets Act involving competitors in the highly complex and technical field of producing ethanol via biofermentation processes. The client filed counterclaims for antitrust violations and for abuse of process. The parties reached a confidential settlement agreement.
Geographic Services Inc. v. Collelo, et al. (Va. Cir. Ct.; Va.)
Represented Boeing and other defendants in a trade secret and contract trial relating to work performed on the Geographic Names Database for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. After being hired to defend the case just two months before trial, Kirkland mounted a successful defense over a six-day jury trial. At the close of plaintiff's evidence, the Kirkland team argued for and obtained the state equivalent of a directed verdict for all defendants, resulting in a win and dismissal of plaintiff's claims. The majority of the dismissal was affirmed on appeal and the case settled favorably thereafter.
IMG Worldwide, Inc. v. Baldwin (N.D. Ohio) and Baldwin v. IMG Worldwide, Inc. (C.D. Cal.)
Represented IMG Worldwide, Inc., in trade secret litigation against a former IMG sports agent for breach of confidentiality, non-solicitation and misappropriation of trade secrets. The case was profiled in The Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and the Sports Business Journal.
Citadel Investment Group, L.L.C. v. Teza Technologies LLC, et al. (Ill. Cir. Ct.)
Represented Citadel in a six-day preliminary injunction hearing seeking relief for breach of non-compete and non-solicitation agreements. Kirkland successfully obtained injunctive relief and sanctions ($2.2 million fine, believed to be the largest in Illinois history at the time) against a defendant for intentional spoliation of evidence.

Practices