Trade Secrets and 3rd Parties: Litigation Traps to Avoid

January.08.2015

Orrick’s Chris Ottenweller and Derek Knerr recently took to Law360 to review recent cases involving theories of third-party liability for trade secret misappropriation. New employees are one obvious source of potential liability if they bring to the job information obtained from their prior employer. But in recent years companies have also increasingly faced suits based on relationships with contractors and vendors. Chris and Derek offer some practical considerations to help companies mitigate potential liability in the first place.

Authors

Chris R. Ottenweller Senior Counsel, Intellectual Property

Silicon Valley

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Practice:

Technology & Innovation Sector
Intellectual Property

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Chris R. Ottenweller Senior Counsel

Silicon Valley

Chris has served as first-chair counsel in more than 75 cases, successfully resolving virtually every one of them; and has tried many cases to judgment, in all types of forums, including jury trials, bench trials, the ITC and arbitrations. His cases involve cutting-edge legal issues and run the full gamut of technologies, including data storage, mobile devices, semiconductors, computers, graphical user interfaces, flash memory and many other technologies.

Chris has been recognized by clients, peers, and multiple publications as a leading lawyer in the IP field. He has been honored by The National Law Journal as one of "50 Intellectual Property Trailblazers and Pioneers," by IP Law360 as an Intellectual Property MVP, by Managing Intellectual Property as an "IP Star," by Chambers USA as a Leading Attorney in Intellectual Property, and by The Daily Journal as one of the "Top 75 IP Litigators" in California. A number of his victories have been profiled by The American Lawyer, Corporate Counsel, The National Law Journal and National Public Radio.

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