Protecting Trade Secrets Before, During and After Litigation

Trade secrets are an essential component of a well rounded intellectual property portfolio and the breadth of available protection can be extensive. Author Chris Scott Graham is a general commercial/technology litigator practicing in Silicon Valley for well over twenty-five years and has handled several dozen trade secret cases. He's found that many companies take the first step in creating protections only after an overt act of misappropriation and when those events arise, company executives have a tendency to demand rapid action from their general litigation counsel, who in turn may not have experience with the practical issues that exist when handling trade secret litigation.

In this important resource he explores the questions of trade secret identification, protection, and economic value from the standpoint of what executives, the board of directors, and the general counsel must consider when faced with the prospect of trade secret litigation. While the main focus is on the trade secret owner, due consideration is given throughout the text to corresponding issues facing an alleged misappropriator.

While not a traditional "practice guide", with references to specific elements of a claim or defense, this book outlines what a practitioner experiences at a white board session with his or her litigation team, with everyone brainstorming to identify potential pivot points on the issues at hand and discusses the best approach, in light of particular rules in a given jurisdiction that influence, how an issue can or must be addressed. In addition, consideration is also given to any alternative pivot points revolving more on the strategic value of the decision to the client's business, instead of a rote application of identifiable legal principles. It's a complete practical guide to protecting trade secrets, through identifying and discussing realistic and practical issues the practitioner may face in this area.

Table of Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1: Identifying the Proper Plaintiff - Standing, Ownership and Stakeholders
Chapter 2: Identifying the "Proper" Defendant(s) -- Legal and Business Considerations
Chapter 3: Identifying the Trade Secrets, Internally and During the Action
Chapter 4: Identifying the Nature and Type of Trade Secret Misappropriation, Addressing the Statute of Limitations, and Action Items for the Pre-Litigation Checklist
Chapter 5: Identifying Additional Claims to Pursue and Preemption, Pretrial Resolution Scenarios and Mediation, Anticipating Fee Awards and Statutory Bad Faith
Chapter 6: Choosing Between Venues: Federal and State Courts, Arbitration and the ITC
Chapter 7: Protective Orders and Document Preservation Orders
Chapter 8: TROs, Preliminary Injunctive Relief, and Expedited Discovery
Chapter 9: Special Masters, Court Appointed Neutral Experts and Technical Advisors
Chapter 10: Addressing the Elements of Reasonable Efforts to Protect Secrecy and Independent Economic Value
Chapter 11: Headstart Injunctions and Other Forms of Post-Judgment Equitable Relief
Chapter 12: The Impact of Contractual Boilerplate Provisions on Trade Secret Litigation
Chapter 13: The Trade Secret Fitness Audit
Appendix