Charles Courtenay practices from the Los Angeles office of Latham & Watkins. He is a member of the Litigation Department and the Intellectual Property Litigation Practice. Mr. Courtenay’s practice focuses upon intellectual property and complex litigation, with particular emphasis on cross border and technology matters. He has litigated numerous patent, trademark, copyright and trade secret cases, along with a number of contract disputes focused upon software and other high tech industries.
Mr. Courtenay plays an active role in Latham & Watkins’ pro bono program, and has represented a number of non-profit entities on that basis. He is active in his local community, and is proud to have introduced local pro bono clients to the firm. Mr. Courtenay also plays a leading role in Latham & Watkins’ community, having been a long-standing member of the firm’s Mentoring and Recruiting Committees. He currently serves on the Ethics Committee.
Before joining Latham & Watkins, Mr. Courtenay was a Chancery barrister in Lincoln’s Inn, London. After a Masters in Art History from Cambridge University, Mr. Courtenay completed his legal studies at the Inns of Court. In 1999 he was called to the Bar by the Inner Temple, before practicing from the Chambers of Michael Driscoll, QC.
Mr. Courtenay’s major recent matters include:
- Successful representation of an international group of related companies in patent infringement litigation in the Eastern District of Texas focused upon massively-multiplayer computer gaming technology
- Defense of a leading international live music promotions and ticketing company in a near-US$1 billion dollar breach of contract arbitration relating to ticketing software before the ICC in London
- Complete defense verdict for a major consultancy firm and a group of leading economists in a trade secret misappropriation arbitration before JAMS in San Francisco involving computer software for electronic auctions
- Complete defense verdict for a leading international marketing and advertising company in an arbitration before JAMS in Santa Monica involving breach of contract claims arising from the marketing of a hair loss product
- Summary judgment for a leading manufacturer of infra-red detectors in a multi-million dollar trade secret misappropriation and patent claim in the Eastern District of Texas
- Successful prosecution of a trade secret misappropriation claim on behalf of a healthcare software company against a former employee who had moved to a major competitor
- Summary judgment on behalf of major enterprise software company and three of its executive officers in a US$3 billion securities fraud class action arising from a missed earnings forecast in 2001
- Successfully represented leading internet security and anti-virus software company in curtailing anti-competitive conduct of a leading industry rival in Europe and the US