Kurt G. Calia

Kurt Calia's legal practice revolves around handling intricate civil litigation matters, with a strong focus on intellectual property disputes. His experience has allowed him to work on a diverse range of cases, spanning various technologies and industries.

Calia formerly co-chaired Covington's patent group and served as the vice chair for the trade secrets committee of the Intellectual Property Owner's Association. He is also known for his contributions as a lecturer on intellectual property developments and as an educator, having taught courses in intellectual property at prestigious institutions such as Stanford Law School, Berkeley Law School and Howard University Law School.

In the ongoing matter, Calia represents the Holcim defendants in a legal action involving breach of contract and trade secret misappropriation. The case is in its early stages. Sika Technology AG and Sika Technology Corp. v. Holcim, Ltd, Holcim (US), Inc. and Frank Hoefflin , 1:23-cv01464 (N.D. Ill., filed March 9, 2023).

Calia's legal practice has often intersected with the aerospace and defense industry, an area characterized by stringent regulations and sensitive information with potential national security implications.

"One of the complicated aspects to trade secrets litigation in the aerospace and defense area is that to the extent that a government contract might be implicated, the case may have to be brought in the US Court of Federal Claims (which handles all IP disputes against the US Government), or it may otherwise require coordination and consultation with the government agency whose interests could be affected by a trade secret dispute," he said. "These kinds of cases not only require a thoughtful litigation strategy, but also require counsel to understand the nature of the relationship between contractors and the relevant agencies to ensure that the matter is being litigated bearing in mind the unique environment in which these disputes arise."

In the trade secrets field, Calia highlights the need to address the extraterritorial reach of the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA), given the global nature of supply chains and interactions between U.S. and non-U.S. businesses. Recent developments have confirmed the DTSA's applicability to misappropriation acts outside the U.S., raising questions about jurisdiction and damages allocation.

"Eventually, there will be a body of caselaw that provides guidance on these and other questions concerning extraterritoriality, and it will be interesting to see how that develops," Calia said.

Apart from his legal work, he is actively involved in pro bono activities. Notable cases include Planned Parenthood Federation of America v. U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Svc., et al ., where he successfully challenged the "conscience rules" issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.