Employers have a number of tools they can use to protect against their employees walking off with trade secrets; among them, restrictive covenants or non-compete agreements can be extremely powerful. Such agreements avoid the...more
Two cases this year have demonstrated that, although trade secret protections have become better aligned with protecting high tech trade secrets, there is still a long way to go. First, in Waymo v. Uber, the hard-fought...more
As the saying goes, hard cases make bad law. And it certainly looked improper when Sergey Aleynikov downloaded high-frequency trading ("HFT") source code as he was leaving his job as a Goldman Sachs programmer, at least to...more
The DTSA After One Year: Has the Federal Trade Secrets Law Met Expectations? -
On May 11, 2017, the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) – the law that created a Federal cause of action for trade secret misappropriation –...more
9/18/2017
/ Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) ,
Forum Selection ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Marijuana ,
Misappropriation ,
Patents ,
Principal Place of Business ,
TC Heartland LLC v Kraft Foods ,
Trade Secrets ,
Venue ,
Water Splash v Menon
On May 11, 2017, the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) – the law that created a Federal cause of action for trade secret misappropriation – celebrated its first birthday. The law was the result of years of negotiation between...more
Sergey Aleynikov was tried and convicted on criminal charges by both a Federal and a New York state jury; both times, his conviction was reversed. But his luck on appeal may have run out. The Appellate Division, First...more
May 2016 was a banner month for trade secret protection around the world. On May 11, 2016, President Obama signed the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 (“DTSA”) into US law, creating a new Federal cause of action for...more
This afternoon, President Obama signed the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 ("DTSA") into law, creating a new Federal cause of action for misappropriation of trade secrets. The new law is the most significant expansion of...more
One week after the House Judiciary Committee unanimously reported the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 to the House floor, the full House approved the bill, 410-2. The two no votes were from tea party Republicans, Rep....more
After a brief markup session in which no amendments to the bill were proposed, the House Judiciary Committee reported the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 to the House floor by unanimous voice vote today. The bill passed the...more
In 2009, Sergey Aleynikov was a computer programmer employed by Goldman Sachs to write high-frequency trading code. He accepted an offer to join a new Chicago-based company, Teza Technologies. Before he left Goldman Sachs,...more
9/15/2015
/ Aleynikov ,
Confidential Information ,
Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) ,
Double Jeopardy ,
Economic Espionage Act ,
Ex Post Facto Clause ,
FBI ,
Goldman Sachs ,
High Frequency Trading ,
Indictments ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Misappropriation ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Popular ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Rule of Lenity ,
Source Code ,
Trade Secrets ,
US v Aleynikov
In 2009, Sergey Aleynikov was a computer programmer employed by Goldman Sachs to write high-frequency trading code. He accepted an offer to join a new Chicago-based company, Teza Technologies. Before he left Goldman Sachs,...more
7/7/2015
/ Aleynikov ,
Convictions ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Double Jeopardy ,
European Economic Area (EEA) ,
Ex Post Facto Clause ,
FBI ,
Foreign Commerce ,
Goldman Sachs ,
High Frequency Trading ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Interstate Commerce ,
Misappropriation ,
Source Code ,
Trade Secrets ,
US v Aleynikov ,
Vacated
Unlike patents and copyrights, trade secrets have historically been protected primarily under state law rather than federal law. That long history may soon change, as bills to create a federal cause of action for trade secret...more
Since President Obama entered the White House in 2009, his administration has undertaken a number of steps toward stricter policing of international trade secret misappropriation. Those efforts reached a turning point early...more
In This Issue:
Comments on New AIA Rules; Implementing the New Micro Entity Status at the U.S. Patent Office; Obama Administration Focuses on Chinese Trade Secret Misappropriation; and Tiffany & Co. v. Costco Wholesale...more
5/13/2013
/ America Invents Act ,
China ,
Costco ,
Fees ,
First-to-File ,
Generic ,
Inventors ,
Micro Entity Status ,
Misappropriation ,
Patent Reform ,
Patents ,
Tiffany and Company ,
Trade Secrets ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
On Tuesday, the U.S. Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator, Victoria Espinel, published a notice in the Federal Register "requesting any recommendations for legislative changes that would enhance enforcement against,...more