Squire Patton Boggs

Firm overview:

Squire Patton Boggs is “a valued partner” on trade secrets matters, says a peer, noting the “great results” the team has achieved on several high-stakes cases. The full-service global law firm has over 30 years’ experience counselling clients on trade secrets issues, and both prosecuting and defending them at the state and federal court levels. As well as high-profile victories for clients, the practice secures ‘behind the scenes’ resolutions for clients, keeping sensitive disputes out of the public eye.

Squire Patton Boggs’ track record of work includes obtaining a nine-figure arbitration award in Amsterdam, relating to trade secrets in location-based services technology, and securing a multi-million-dollar settlement on behalf of a client in a confidential JAMS arbitration involving trade secrets theft in the solar panel industry.

Members of the team have played key roles in establishing trade secrets programmes for clients, and the firm maintains a library of trade secrets-focused thought leadership and resources.

Team overview:

Based in Silicon Valley, David Elkins has led the global IP & Technology Practice Group since 2010, and serves as lead trial and arbitration counsel in patent, trademark, trade dress, trade secret and copyright actions across the US.

Also in Palo Alto, Todd Ostomel assists clients with developing and managing global patent and trade secret portfolios for innovations in the fields of inorganic and organic chemistry, electrochemistry, materials science and biotechnology.

Steven Auvil is the managing partner of the firm’s Cleveland office and previously led the US litigation segment of the IP & Technology Practice Group for nearly a decade. An industry counterpart says Auvil and his team are “responsive, professional, and instill the highest possible degree of confidence”.

“They understand the business realities attendant to cases like this, which helps guide the way they approach the litigation and, ultimately, makes our lives (as in-house counsel) easier,” the peer continues. “I would and do recommend Squire and Steve’s team to any other company facing trade secret litigation.”

Another of the firm’s key IP litigators, Ronald Lemieux is an expert in patents and trade secrets and has served clients including ASUS, Sony, MediaTek and Olympus, among others. Lemieux has taken more than 20 cases to final verdict in both jury and bench trials in courtrooms around the US.

Key matters:

• OWLink Technology v Cypress Technologies

Squire Patton Boggs represented Cypress Technologies in the defence of a multi-claim lawsuit involving, among others, claims for misappropriation of trade secrets under both federal and state law. Claims for trade secret theft were successfully resolved in favour of the firm’s client via an order for partial summary judgment issued just prior to trial.

The team included partners Ronald Lemieux (partner, Palo Alto), Marisol Mork (partner, Los Angeles), Hannah Makinde (senior associate, Los Angeles) and Xiaomei Cai (associate, Phoenix).

The case is OWLink Technology Inc v Cypress Technologies Co Inc, Central District of California.

• Paragon Data Systems v Cintas

Ohio-based company Cintas provides rental uniforms to businesses, serving over one million customers. Squire Patton Boggs was retained as lead counsel to defend Cintas against accusations of breach of contract and trade secrets misappropriation by Paragon Data Systems, a former vendor that provided Cintas with an inventory control system for its stockrooms. The complaint alleges that Cintas and its current ERP provider, SAP, and an SAP partner conspired to steal Paragon’s trade secrets in developing a replacement inventory control system.

Paragon sought more than $200 million in damages based on the alleged breach and trade secret misappropriation. On summary judgment, however, the court held that a provision in the vendor agreement effectively capped Cintas’s liability for damages, if any, to approximately 1% of the claimed amount. Shortly after that ruling, on the eve of trial (September 2024), the parties settled all claims.

The case is Paragon Data Systems, Inc v Cintas Corporation, Court of Common Pleas for Cuyahoga County, Ohio, cv-22-969925.

Squire Patton Boggs’ Steve Auvil (partner, Cleveland) served as lead trial counsel, supported by Rebecca Haverstick (of counsel, Cleveland), Rachel Harris (principal, Washington, DC), Eleanor Hagan (senior associate, Cleveland) and Jim Brennan (associate, Cleveland).

• Qorvo v Akoustis

The team represented Akoustis in defence of litigation brought by Qorvo, which sought over $180 million in trade secret and patent infringement damages, plus up to 2X exemplary damages. Squire Patton Boggs took over defence of the client from predecessor counsel just before the close of fact discovery in November 2023.

The plaintiff originally asserted over 300 trade secrets and maintained its allegations on 104 of those until the first day of trial, when it limited the number of asserted trade secrets to 46. The team took the case through a two-week jury trial, at the end of which it limited damages to $31 million in compensatory damages and $7 million for exemplary damages on the trade secret claims, and just $280,000 for patent infringement damages, with a defence verdict on plaintiff’s claims for violation of the North Carolina Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act claim (which provides for mandatory treble damages).

The case is Qorvo Inc v Akoustis Technologies, Inc, US District Court for the District of Delaware, 1-21-cv-01417.

On Squire Patton Boggs’ team are Ron Lemieux (partner, Palo Alto), David Elkins (partner, Palo Alto) and Victoria Smith (partner, Palo Alto).

Clients:

Akoustis, Belden, Biocomposites (UK), Bio-Techne, Cintas, Cypress Technologies, OCLC, QuantumScape, SolarCycle