A recent trade secret matter pending in federal court in California shows the pitfalls of a company’s failing to do trade secret asset management before filing a trade secret lawsuit, and also highlights some important...more
Federal courts remain split on whether the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) allows for trade secret misappropriation claims brought under a theory of inevitable disclosure. Given this current patchwork of treatment of...more
Since the passage of the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA), trade secret owners have been able to use allegations of trade secret misappropriation under the DTSA to support civil claims under the Racketeer Influence and Corrupt...more
Last year, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York addressed an issue of first impression concerning what constitutes “misappropriation” under the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) in a decision...more
When companies consider bringing a new employee on board, the applicant’s prior experience is usually a significant factor in the decision-making process. If the prospective employee is coming from a rival company, ensuring...more
Most trade secret cases involve allegations that a former employee is using a company’s confidential information at a new job or their own business. Given that reality, and the workforce disruptions caused by the coronavirus...more
Trade secrets are typically associated with a company’s most profitable products and services, and maintaining control of critical confidential information is often essential to a company’s revenue stream and continued...more
An economic downturn usually leads to a rise in trade secret theft and litigation, and conditions are ripe for a major surge in cases from the current slump, given widespread job losses and companies’ embrace of remote...more
The coronavirus pandemic has created profound changes to how many Americans do their work, with an outsized number now working from home. This arrangement, while necessary given social distancing requirements and the...more
4/17/2020
/ Competition ,
Confidential Information ,
Confidentiality Agreements ,
Cybersecurity ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Misappropriation ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
Proprietary Information ,
Remote Working ,
Trade Secrets ,
Virtual Meetings
Earlier this month, a Northern District of Illinois jury returned a verdict in favor of Motorola for over $700 million after a trial in which Motorola alleged that Hytera hired three engineers away from Motorola’s Malaysian...more
3/13/2020
/ Confidential Business Information (CBI) ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Damages ,
Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) ,
Economic Espionage Act ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
Jury Verdicts ,
Misappropriation ,
Popular ,
RJR Nabisco v European Community ,
Trade Secrets
The DTSA standing alone provides significant recourse for trade secret owners who have fallen victim to trade secret theft. Apart from the protection provided by the DTSA itself, however, the statute also allows trade secret...more
On October 1, 2018, Massachusetts will become the 49th state to adopt a version of the Uniform Trade Secrets Act. The version of the UTSA that Massachusetts will adopt bears notable similarities to the Defend Trade Secrets...more
Speed is almost always of the essence for the victim of trade secret misappropriation. Many companies ground their business in proprietary information that, if made public, would make the exclusive product or service those...more
1/31/2018
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) ,
Estoppel ,
Expedited Discovery ,
International Trade Commission (ITC) ,
Jurisdiction ,
Misappropriation ,
Patents ,
Section 337 ,
Trade Secrets ,
UTSA
The Defend Trade Secrets Acts (DTSA) provides an important tool for any company possessing trade secrets to bring a suit in federal court to remedy and prevent dissemination of a misappropriated trade secret. Specifically,...more
The Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) Ex Parte Seizure mechanism allows victims of trade secret misappropriation to quickly prevent further dissemination of confidential information by asking a court to direct federal marshals...more
A recent decision in the Northern District of Illinois gave life to the inevitable disclosure doctrine under the Defend Trade Secrets Act. Inevitable disclosure is a common law doctrine by which a court can prevent a former...more
A recent decision in the Western District of Kentucky highlights the importance of explaining in a complaint under the Defend Trade Secrets Act why the allegedly misappropriated information qualifies for trade secret...more
An important question for any plaintiff alleging trade secret misappropriation is: “How much detail should I provide about the stolen trade secrets in the complaint?” Answering this question often requires the balancing of...more
Trade secret theft is a growing threat to American businesses. One obstacle to addressing misappropriation through a lawsuit can be a lack of direct evidence of theft. For example, if an employee leaves his company to work...more
Trade secrets provide significant value for American companies. Take, for example, the formula for Coca-Cola. The exact formula for the popular softdrink is a closely guarded secret, and Coca-Cola’s exclusive ability to make...more
10/28/2016
/ Cause of Action Accrual ,
Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Misappropriation ,
Notice Requirements ,
Remedies ,
Theft ,
Theft of Trade Secrets Clarification Act ,
Trade Secrets ,
UTSA ,
Whistleblowers
American corporations are facing an ever increasing threat of misappropriation of their valuable trade secrets through industrial espionage, defined as the theft of a company’s trade secrets by an actor intending to convert...more
8/25/2016
/ China ,
Confidential Information ,
Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) ,
Former Employee ,
Industrial Espionage ,
Misappropriation ,
Monsanto ,
Popular ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Replevin ,
Restraining Orders ,
Trade Secrets ,
TRO
On July 5, 2016, in United States v. Nosal, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals clarified the definition of “trade secret,” finding that data derived from a compilation of publicly available information can constitute a...more
In some of the first decisions under the newly enacted Defend Trade Secrets Act, on June 10 and 22, 2016, United States District Judge Jon S. Tigar granted a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction in Henry...more
On May 11, 2016, President Obama signed the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) into law. This important new legislation creates a federal private civil cause of action for trade secret misappropriation in which “[a]n owner of a...more
The Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) is now one signature away from becoming law. On April 4, 2016, the Senate unanimously passed the DTSA and, last week, on April 27, the House of Representatives followed suit, passing the...more