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Christopher J. Cariello

Partner

New York

Chris tackles the most challenging legal issues in IP and tech at every stage of litigation. From trial court to the Supreme Court, he combines keen strategic vision, incisive analysis, and powerful writing to win cases for his clients.

Chris has represented major ISPs in high-stakes copyright litigation, tech titans pushing the cutting edge, national retailers with key trademarks on the line, and global manufacturers facing class action risk. He has authored dozens of appellate briefs, winning results in federal and state courts of appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court. And he is a consummate team player when partnering with trial teams to craft winning legal strategies and themes, brief dispositive motions, win key legal and evidentiary rulings at trial, and construct a record with an eye towards appeal.

Chris is most passionate about the novel issues that arise at the intersection of tech and commerce, implicating the balance between creation, innovation, and competition. Whether it's the DMCA and copyright's intermediary liability doctrines, generative AI, data scraping, or trade secrets, he relishes litigating in the gray areas, presenting what the law ought to be as plain common sense. Chris also has a wealth of experience in class action defense in both trial and appellate courts, including several appellate victories defending the denial of class certification. And his broader experience includes bankruptcy, telecommunications, constitutional law, and various issues confronting Fintech companies.

Chris maintains an active pro bono practice. He led a team that prevailed in both federal district court and in the Second Circuit in one of the nation's most closely watched police transparency cases. The year before, he argued and won a precedent-setting parole appeal in New York’s Appellate Division on behalf of a former juvenile offender. And he has won victories for clients in immigration cases and cases presenting novel legal issues under freedom of information laws.

Prior to joining Orrick, Chris was a law clerk to Judge Robert D. Sack of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and Chief Judge Carol B. Amon of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

  • Chris's current representations include:

    • A software company appealing one of the largest trade secret judgments in history
    • Two major tech companies defending their generative AI tool against legal challenge
    • Two large ISPs in trial and appellate court litigating high-profile tests of the limits of copyright’s doctrines of intermediary liability
    • A website seeking Supreme Court review concerning the application of copyright preemption to its claims for breach of contract
    • A nationwide charity in appellate litigation concerning its prized trademarks

    Major wins in which Chris played a key role include:

    • Summary judgment for a major social media platform in a closely-watched case involving data scraping
    • A win in the Supreme Court for a fashion company settling the proper interpretation of the Copyright Act’s provision concerning the validity of copyright registrations
    • An appellate victory for a major national retailer in obtaining appellate reversal of one of the largest trademark verdicts in history
    • A successful appellate representation university in a major patent appeal, successfully defending one of the largest patent verdicts in history and setting the stage for a favorable settlement
    • An appellate win for a major tech company an adverse PTO decision before the Federal Circuit
    • An appellate win on behalf of an accused infringer in a precedent-setting copyright appeal concerning doctrines of vicarious infringement and willfulness