
Practice Overview
Chris Young is an accomplished litigator and trial attorney with more than 20 years of experience in complex intellectual property and commercial litigation. His practice focuses on sophisticated patent, trademark and trade secret disputes, general commercial litigation, and novel product liability actions. He has defended numerous Fortune 500 companies, yet regularly represents small, privately held corporations versus corporate goliaths. He has obtained successful results in venues ranging from rural state courts to the fast-paced Internal Trade Commission and state and federal appellate courts. In addition to his litigation practice, Chris also advises clients on privacy and cybersecurity-related issues.
Representative Experience
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Represented fifteen-person Twin Cities-based corporate petitioner in ITC patent infringement investigation regarding the formatting of magnetic data storage tape. Respondents included multiple Fortune 100 companies that were represented by three large firms ranked highly in the Am Law 100. Led all fact and expert discovery efforts, including efforts regarding claim construction, infringement, and validity contentions. Settled on favorable confidential terms before hearing.
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Represented twelve-person Twin Cities-based corporate plaintiff in misappropriation of trade secret and breach of contract action against Fortune 300 cell culture device manufacturer. Managing counsel for fact and e-discovery efforts. Drafted, responded to, and argued numerous non-dispositive motions, prevailing (in substance) on all. Led expert discovery effort, with a particular focus on damages. Argued and defeated the defendant’s dispositive Daubert motion relating to damages expert, in the process convincing the court to allow plaintiffs to present damages case including revenues and profits from the sale of convoyed products and future damages for products based on plaintiffs’ trade secrets. Prompted defendant to replace its lead counsel approximately 4½ years into the litigation.
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Represented Twin Cities-based defendant in first-of-its-kind products liability suit alleging damages to cotton crops from the alleged drift of nearby herbicide applications. Along with co-defendants, obtained a complete defense verdict after a six-week jury trial in plaintiff-friendly Clay County, Arkansas (the heart of Arkansas’ cotton farming region).
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Represented dental product developer against infringing dental products manufacturer. Convinced court to exclude the defendant’s expert opinion on damages. Obtained plaintiff’s verdict and damages award of more than twice the amount requested.
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Represented defendant smart card manufacturer in patent infringement suit. Obtained a favorable settlement of patent infringement allegations.
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Represented licensee of options trading software in a dispute over critical backroom software license. Obtained favorable settlement after prevailing on expedited motion practice in the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.
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Represented accused infringer in patent litigation regarding methods for implanting spinal implants. Obtained favorable settlement.
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Represented power meter manufacturer in breach of contract action; obtained favorable settlement.
Areas of Law
- Commercial Litigation
- Patent Litigation
- Trade Secret Litigation
- Trademark Litigation
- Product Liability Litigation
- International Trade Commission Litigation
- Privacy and Cybersecurity Law
Bar Admissions
- Minnesota
- Supreme Court of Minnesota
- United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
- United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
Education
- Mitchell Hamline School of Law; Cybersecurity and Privacy Law Certificate, 2019
- University of Iowa College of Law; J.D., with distinction, 1998
- Buena Vista University; B.A. in Management and Entrepreneurship magna cum laude, 1995