Commercial Law & Contracts, Intellectual Property, Civil Remedies

I Thought We Broke Up Years Ago! Why You Should “Throw Out” Trade Secrets As Soon As A Business Relationship Ends

by Valerie Goo | Orrick - Trade Secrets Group on 5/21/2013

The Fifth Circuit’s affirmance last week of a $44.4 million trade secrets award in the Wellogix v. Accenture case is a weighty reminder of the power of circumstantial evidence in trade secrets cases, and the importance of...more

Texas Insiders Say Businesses Champing At The Bit For New Trade Secrets Law To Take Effect

by Daniel Corbett, Scott Lindlaw | Orrick - Trade Secrets Group on 5/17/2013

For decades, Texas was the wild west of trade secrets law, governed by the state’s outdated common law with no trade secrets statute on the books. ...more

A First for FRAND: Federal Court in Microsoft v. Motorola Sets FRAND Royalty Rates for Standard Essential Patents

by Nick Grimmer, Stefan M. Meisner | McDermott Will & Emery on 5/9/2013

Microsoft v. Motorola developed a framework for courts to assess fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms for standard-essential patents. Its roadmap and analysis will probably influence future FRAND cases in...more

Figuring FRAND

by Jason Bartlett, William Goodwin, Alison Tucher | MoFo Tech on 5/2/2013

In our December post “A FRANDlier Realm” we discussed emerging law relating to patents that are essential to technological standards, like 3G wireless telecommunications. What happens when patent owners and product makers...more

Arbitrator’s Creative IP Remedy Upheld Because It Furthered “General Aims Of Agreement”

by Liz Kramer | Leonard, Street and Deinard - Arbitration... on 4/26/2013

In a dispute over whether an arbitrator has authority to grant a video game developer and publisher a perpetual license in the intellectual property as a remedy for the developer’s fraud and breaches of contract, the Fifth...more

Florida Court Reverses Preliminary Injunction On Restrictive Covenant

by Peter C. Vilmos | Burr & Forman on 4/24/2013

If you have followed this blog, then you likely already know that restrictive covenants are legal and enforceable in Florida. You should also know that – although enforceable – restrictive covenants are strictly construed...more

Employers Just Get No Satisfaction: NH Enacts Law Restricting Use Of Non-Compete Agreements

by Downs Rachlin Martin PLLC on 4/23/2013

Employers in New Hampshire now must comply with further restrictions on their ability to enforce non-compete and anti-piracy agreements. Venturing further into the already murky area of the enforceability of such agreements,...more

Settlements (Part 2 of 3): 5 Reasons Non-Compete Cases Should (and Do) Settle

by Kenneth Vanko | Clingen Callow & McLean, LLC on 4/12/2013

On Monday, I offered several reasons why non-compete cases don't settle. Today I flip this concept around. It is true most non-compete cases do settle, a reflection that business cases get resolved for pure economic...more

Standard Essential Patents Come Under Scrutiny of the DOJ, FTC, and PTO

by Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP on 4/1/2013

Introduction - Increased public and regulatory attention has been recently given to litigation remedies available to standard essential patent (“SEP”) holders who have committed to offer patent licenses on fair,...more

Live Events Agency Sues Former Employees And Independent Contractor For Breach Of Non-Solicitation Agreements

by John Paul Nefflen | Burr & Forman on 3/27/2013

On March 18, 2013, TBA Global, LLC, a live events market and communications agency, sued LEO Events, LLC and several of its owners for breach of non-solicitation agreements and misappropriation of TBA’s trade secrets and...more

Patent Watch: Frolow v. Wilson Sporting Goods Co.

by Lawrence M. Sung | BakerHostetler on 3/26/2013

On March 15, 2013, in Frolow v. Wilson Sporting Goods Co., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (Newman, Clevenger, Moore*) affirmed-in-part, reversed-in-part and remanded the district court's summary judgment...more

Free Product Distribution or Discounted Component Distribution Likely Does Not Exhaust Patent Rights

by Howard Ullman on 3/22/2013

In LifeScan, Inc. v. Shasta Technologies, LLC, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 38677 (N.D. Cal. Mar. 19, 2013), Judge Davila granted plaintiff’s motion for a preliminary injunction to address claims of patent infringement, and...more

2013 Update on Chapter 93A

by Mike Gilleran | Adler Pollock & Sheehan P.C. on 3/12/2013

1. Standard governing liability under 93A - Higher standard applies for business plaintiffs – More decisions confirm that a business plaintiff must make a higher showing of defendant wrongdoing in order to prevail...more

Trade Secrets Injunction Order Demonstrates Difficulty of Balancing Competing Interests

by Kenneth Vanko | Clingen Callow & McLean, LLC on 3/4/2013

One of the more difficult aspects of trade secrets law is determining how long to enjoin competitive conduct that infringes trade secret rights of the owner....more

Another California Court Awards Attorneys' Fees in Bad-Faith Trade Secret and Patent Inventorship Lawsuit

by Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati on 2/26/2013

Earlier this month, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California awarded more than $11 million in attorneys' fees and costs to three trade secret defendants, finding that plaintiffs who had raised a claim...more

Some Thoughts On Pursuing Expedited Discovery

by Kenneth Vanko | Clingen Callow & McLean, LLC on 2/21/2013

Most non-compete (and some trade secrets) cases are effectively decided at the preliminary injunction stages. For counsel, this means that a significant part of the lawsuit must be tried quickly and with great efficiency....more

Ninth Circuit Vacates MGA's Trade Secrets Counterclaim Award

by Kenneth Vanko | Clingen Callow & McLean, LLC on 2/18/2013

The long-running dispute between Mattel and MGA Entertainment is one of the most notable, costly competition cases of the last decade. As most readers probably know, Mattel makes the popular Barbie line of dolls and sued its...more

Non-Compete Case Law Update: The Mildly Interesting, But Useful, Edition

by Kenneth Vanko | Clingen Callow & McLean, LLC on 2/12/2013

The new year is off to a pretty big start. We've already seen significant decisions from federal appellate courts on criminal trade secrets prosecutions and the epic Mattel/MGA "Bratz" dolls dispute. We have a looming debate...more

The Joint DOJ and PTO Perspective on Standards-Essential Patents as Compared to that of the FTC

by Erin Murdock-Park | BakerHostetler on 2/12/2013

On January 8, the U.S. Department of Justice, Antitrust Division (“DOJ”) and the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (“PTO”) (collectively, “the Agencies”) issued a joint policy statement regarding remedies for Standards-Essential...more

"New Year Will See More Policing of Patent Conduct by US and EU Competition Agencies"

by Simon Baxter, Alec Chang, Ian John, James Keyte, Sharis Pozen, Ingrid Vandenborre | Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP on 1/30/2013

If recent events are any indication, U.S. and European antitrust agencies will remain focused this year on the intersection of intellectual property and competition law. In particular, the agencies have concluded that under...more

Intellectual Property Newsletter - January 2013

by King & Spalding on 1/29/2013

In This Issue: *News From the Bench - Enough Already, Supreme Court Tells Petitioner in Mythology-Laced Opinion. - Divided Fed. Circuit Affirms Patentability of Claims to a 12-Can Dispenser Carton. -...more

Click & Copy: Breach of Online License Agreements & Copyright Infringement

by Field Law on 1/22/2013

My article Click and Copy: Breach of Online License Agreements and Copyright Infringement was published in Canadian Intellectual Property Review in December. The enforceability of click-through licenses for online...more

Hallmark Recoups Former Executive’s Severance Pay Seven Years after Separation Agreement

by Mary Theresa Metzler, Claire Ana-Perot Tracey | Ballard Spahr LLP on 1/22/2013

Seven years after entering into a separation agreement with one of its executives, Hallmark Cards, Inc. brought suit against the former employee, seeking a “full refund” of the $735,000 severance it paid her....more

Amendments to the Economic Espionage Act Broaden Trade Secret Protection

by Meredith Louis, Daren M. Orzechowski | White & Case LLP on 1/21/2013

Protecting and enforcing trade secrets in the United States has historically been challenging. Recent amendments to the Economic Espionage Act of 1996 (the "EEA"), which criminalizes theft of trade secrets, broaden the scope...more

Recent FTC Developments Regarding Standard Essential Patents

by Erin Murdock-Park | BakerHostetler on 1/15/2013

The FTC recently issued two decisions and proposed consent orders concerning Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (“FTCA”) and standard essential patents (“SEPs”). Not only do these decisions emphasize the...more

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Commercial Law & Contracts › Intellectual Property › Civil Remedies