Practice Areas & Industries: Baker & Hostetler LLP

Practice/Industry Group Overview

In addition to trade secret litigation and dispute resolution services, we provide clients with standard operating procedures and "best practices" to assist in identifying, securing and maintaining trade secret rights. We negotiate and draft all forms of trade secret agreements, such as employment agreements, development agreements, distribution agreements, licenses and transfer agreements, and have performed due diligence studies in the context of domestic and international mergers and acquisitions.

Leadership in Action

Trade Secrets: Going to court to enjoin anonymous posters on Yahoo!'s message boards

Client: Several large industrial companies

Type of Matter: Trade secret infringement and breach of confidentiality agreements in the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas.

Our Client's Challenge: Identify the anonymous posters and informers to stop the unauthorized leak of information.

The Goal: Stop the dissemination of trade secrets over the internet.

Our Strategy: Obtain a temporary restraining order and subpoena Yahoo! to identify information on the posters; have Yahoo! pull offending messages.

Results: Anonymous posters identified and trade secrets protected.

About Our Intellectual Property Team

Our team of dedicated Intellectual Property (IP) lawyers and patent agents have the diverse backgrounds and core strengths required to ensure that the full spectrum of domestic and international IP is considered in securing IP and formulating IP strategies. Members of our IP team have worked as engineers and in-house patent, trademark and copyright counsel for companies and agencies as diverse as Borg Warner, Capitol Records, DuPont, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the United States International Trade Commission (ITC), the Justice Department (Civil Division, Intellectual Property) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

Our team members also include adjunct IP law professors, columnists, the co-founder of the longest-running journal on computer technology, and regular lecturers for the Zurich Institute of Technology, Georgetown University and George Mason University. In addition, our team members frequently speak and write for continuing legal education programs and industry events and are quoted in the press on emerging issues.

Baker Hostetler is a member of the International Trademark Association (INTA), American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA), Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO), Licensing Executive Society (LES), The International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition (IACC), International Licensing Industry and Merchandisers Association (LIMA), as well as numerous local and regional IP organizations.

About Baker Hostetler

Baker Hostetler lawyers help clients establish, maintain and protect market-leading positions across the United States and around the world. We offer clients the strength of 600+ lawyers in a full range of practices, a unique geographic platform including both the coasts and the center of the country, a deep knowledge of industry issues, and a 90-year track record of excellence and achievement.

For more information on our Trade Secrets practice:

National Contact

John H. Weber
202.861.1526
jweber@bakerlaw.com

Cincinnati

William Appleton
513.929.3403
wappleton@bakerlaw.com

Cleveland

Thomas H. Shunk
216.861.7592
tshunk@bakerlaw.com

Deborah A.Wilcox
216.861.7864
dwilcox@bakerlaw.com

Columbus

Rosanne T. Yang
614.462.2684
ryang@bakerlaw.com

Costa Mesa

George T. Mooradian
714.966.8800
gmooradian@bakerlaw.com

Denver

Raymond L. Sutton
303.764.4103
rsutton@bakerlaw.com

Houston

Lisa H. Pennington
713.646.1303
lpennington@bakerlaw.com

Los Angeles

James E. Doroshow
310.442.8818
jdoroshow@bakerlaw.com

C. Dennis Loomis
310.442.8865
dloomis@bakerlaw.com

New York

Gerald J. Ferguson
212.589.4238
gferguson@bakerlaw.com

G. Thomas Ball
407.649.4004
tball@bakerlaw.com

Washington, DC

Gary J. Rinkerman
202.861.1699
grinkerman@bakerlaw.com

Kenneth J. Sheehan
202.861.1682
ksheehan@bakerlaw.com