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Experience and Background
Chris Scott Graham, chair of Dechert's trade secret practice, litigates intellectual property cases involving trade secret misappropriation, patent and copyright infringement, privacy issues, unfair business competition, and false advertising. He also handles complex civil disputes, public and private investigations, securities fraud, and shareholder class actions.
Mr. Graham is recognized as one of the country's preeminent lawyers by The Best Lawyers in America and Benchmark Litigation. He has handled cases in federal and state courts throughout the United States, as well as the International Trade Commission. Having tried more than 40 cases to final judgment, he has received several multi-million dollar judgments on behalf of his clients. He has also tried more than 100 matters before a variety of arbitration panels and jurisdictions. He is often selected as an ADR neutral with special expertise in acting as the arbitrator and mediator. In addition, Mr. Graham has broad appellate experience, having successfully argued cases before the California Courts of Appeal and the U.S. Court of Appeals.
Bar and Court Admissions
A member of various local, state, and federal bar associations, Mr. Graham is licensed in California and admitted to practice before the Northern, Eastern and Central Districts of the United States District Court in California, as well as the Districts Courts for Arizona, Delaware, Nevada, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin. Mr. Graham also has been admitted before the United States Court of Appeals for the First, Third, Ninth and Federal Circuits.
Significant Representations
-- KLA-Tencor v. Nanometrics (U.S. District Court, Northern District of California). Representing KLA-Tencor, a maker of semiconductor capital equipment and inspection devices, in an infringement action involving three patents that address methods for examining semiconductor devices.
-- Silvaco v. Cypress Semiconductor, Agilent, Intel, Cirrus Logic and Hewlett-Packard et. al (California Superior Court). Representing Silvaco, a maker of software tools that involve semiconductor process and device simulation, in a collection of five separate trade secret cases against the customers of now-defunct software company, CSI, against which we won a previous trade secret judgment. Obtained a ruling in one of the cases on behalf of Silvaco Data Systems in an opinion published on May 30, 2008 by the California Court of Appeal that involved an important issues of first impression under the Uniform Trade Secret Act.
-- Advanced Analogic Technologies, Inc. v. Shum/Kinetics Technology (California Superior Court). Representing AATI in a trade secrets claim against a former employee and Kinetics Technology relating to integrated circuit design.
-- Standard Microsystems Corporation v. Winbond et. al. (California Superior Court). Representing Standard Microsystems in a trade secrets claim against Winbond Electronics Corporation. The matter is on appeal after we obtained a judgment and permanent injunction in favor of Standard Microsystems.
-- Siliconix, Inc. v. Advanced Analogic Technologies, Inc. (U.S. District Court, Northern District of California). Represented Advanced Analogic in an infringement action involving three patents relating to trench metal oxide field effect transistor (MOSFET) technology. The matter settled favorably once the Court adopted the claim construction proposed by Advanced Analogic.
-- Maxim Integrated Products, Inc. v. Intersil Corporation et al. (California Superior Court). Defended silicon chipmaker Intersil Corp. in trade secret, unfair business practices, and breach of contract case with competitor in the integrated circuit industry. The case involved some of Maxim's core technology for audio integrated circuits. The case settled with no restriction on the ability of Intersil to proceed in its development of audio integrated circuits.
-- Freeport Partners LLC v. Intersil, et. al. (California Superior Court). Defended Intersil Corp. in a shareholder class action that sought to enjoin the acquisition by Intersil of Xicor, Inc. based on allegations of securities fraud. After successfully obtaining judgment for Intersil, the merger closed.
-- Pitchware, Inc. v. Monster Worldwide, Inc. et al (U.S. District Court, Northern District of California). Represented Monster Worldwide, owner of the Internet job site Monster.com, in patent infringement suit relating to electronic commerce. Obtained dismissal of the suit without any settlement payment or other conditions.
-- Synopsys, Inc. v. Magma Design Automation, Inc., Corp. (U.S. District Court, Northern District of California; U.S. District Court, District of Delaware). Represented Synopsys, Inc. in patent infringement case against Magma Design Automation. At issue was technology relating to the automated design of integrated circuitry. Obtained a determination after trial that Synopsys was the owner of various patents that Magma initially claimed our client was infringing.
-- Synopsys, Inc. v. Nassda Corp., et. al. (U.S. District Court, Northern District of California; California Superior Court). Represented Synopsys, Inc. in a series of actions in federal and state court involving a patent for the reliable testing of deep submicron integrated designs as well as the misappropriation by defendants of trade secrets, and related claims involving the source code for software used in the development of integrated circuits. Settlement agreement included Synopsys acquiring Nassda for a significant litigation discount.
-- ADE v. Synopsys, Inc. (U.S. District Court, New Hampshire; U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit). Represented Synopsys, Inc. in a dispute over a software development agreement that encompassed development activities in Grenoble. Judgment affirmed in a matter of first impression before the First Circuit.
-- Linear Technology Corp v. Advanced Analogic Technologies, Inc. (International Trade Commission; U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit). Obtained a defense ruling on behalf of Advanced Analogic Technologies Inc. before the Administrative Law Judge in the U.S. International Trade Commission in a Section 337 investigation involving charge pump semiconductor devices that was initiated at the behest of Linear Technology Corp. The ALJ findings included a determination that various Linear patent claims were invalid, that AATI's products did not infringe, and that Linear did not establish a "domestic industry" as required by Section 337. The full Commission affirmed these rulings. The Federal Circuit affirmed the finding that Linear's asserted patent claims were invalid.
-- HCL Finance v. eKomas (California Superior Court). Represented HCL Finance in California Superior Court action in which certain of HCL employees left the company to form a rival enterprise. The case involved claims for trade secret misappropriation, breach of contract, and unfair business practices under Section 17200 of the California Business & Professions Code. Settled favorably.
-- Silvaco v. Circuit Semantics, Inc. (California Superior Court). Represented Silvaco in an action involving the theft of trade secrets, including source code for circuit simulation and cell characterization. The case concerned former Silvaco employees who left the company and to work for Circuit Semantics. Obtained judgment after trial in favor of Silvaco, including a permanent injunction and constructive trust over all of the source and derivative code.
-- SimplexGrinnell v. Siemens et al. (U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California). Defended Siemens Building Technologies, Inc. against claims of trade secret misappropriation, copyright infringement, unfair competition, and unfair business practices in relation to fire protection systems and associated software. Settled favorably.
-- Fulman v. KLA-Tencor (U.S. District Court, Northern District of California). Obtained judgment in favor of KLA-Tencor, in a commercial dispute arising out of a fabrication center in Thailand.
-- Rigg v. KLA-Tencor (California Superior Court). Represented KLA-Tencor in a case involved claims for trade secret misappropriation, breach of contract, and unfair business practices under Section 17200 of the California Business & Professions Code. Settled favorably.
Education
California State University at Chico, B.A., emphasis in industrial psychology and labor relations, 1981
The University of the Pacific McGeorge School of the Law, J.D., cum laude, 1984, an editor of the Pacific Law Review
Publications and Lectures
Mr. Graham is a frequent lecturer and author of articles on issues involving intellectual property protection, Internet law, trade secret and patent law, electronic discovery, and the international enforcement of intellectual property rights. He is also the author of the novel Winery Peak (Ramble House, 2009).
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