James Pooley

Owner, James Pooley PLC

James Pooley is a Silicon Valley lawyer representing clients in trade secret, patent and technology-related commercial disputes, and provides advice on IP strategy and data security management. He also serves as a special master, expert and arbitrator.

Mr. Pooley is an author or co-author of several major works in the IP field, including his treatise Trade Secrets (Law Journal Press) and the Patent Case Management Judicial Guide (Federal Judicial Center). His recent business book is Secrets: Managing Information Assets in the Age of Cyberespionage (Verus Press 2015). His most recent journal article is The Myth of the Trade Secret Troll: Why the Defend Trade Secrets Act Improves the Protection of Commercial Information, 23 Geo. Mason L. Rev. 1045 (Summer 2016).

The Senate Judiciary Committee relied on Mr. Pooley for expert testimony and advice during consideration of the 2016 Defend Trade Secrets Act, and one Senator later called his participation “instrumental” in achieving passage of this landmark legislation.

In 2014 he completed a five-year term as Deputy Director General at the World Intellectual Property Organization in Geneva, where he was responsible for management of the international patent system. He is a past President of the American Intellectual Property Law Association and Chairman of the National Inventors Hall of Fame. He currently serves as Chair of the Sedona Conference Working Group 12 on Trade Secrets and as Co-Chair of the Trade Secret Task Force of the International Chamber of Commerce. He also teaches trade secret law at the University of California’s Berkeley School of Law.

In 2016 Mr. Pooley was inducted into the IP Hall of Fame for his contributions to IP law and practice.


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