Science, Computers & Technology, Conflict of Laws, Labor & Employment Law

Decisions Highlight Split In Application Of Computer Fraud And Abuse Act

by Thomas Dye | Carlton Fields on 4/25/2013

Trade secret claims have historically derived from state common law causes of action and, subsequently, most states’ adoption of the Uniform Trade Secrets Act, which codifies that common law and generally proscribes the...more

Circuit Split: How Does the CFAA Apply to Employment Cases?

by Cullen and Dykman LLP on 10/15/2012

Imagine a disgruntled employee rummaging through your company’s confidential files and covertly stealing trade secrets to use as he builds a competing business. What recourse would you have against the rogue employee?...more

Computer Fraud and Abuse Act | Did the Ninth Circuit Blow It?

by Downs Rachlin Martin PLLC on 10/2/2012

Did the Ninth Circuit “blow it” when it snubbed other courts and held that “exceeding authorized access” under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) means nothing less than “hacking?”...more

Ninth Circuit Scales Back CFAA Application to Data Misappropriation Cases

by Fenwick & West LLP on 8/9/2012

Aggrieved employers have often turned to the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (the "CFAA") in suing former employees that allegedly absconded with information from company computers. Such suits face bleak prospects in the Ninth...more

De-CFAA-nating Federal Law: Appeals Courts Weaken Electronic Data Use Protections

by Foley & Lardner LLP on 8/3/2012

The federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1030, (CFAA) is — for most of corporate America — one of the most powerful weapons available to protect trade secrets. Like many state computer crimes laws, CFAA was...more

4th Circuit Issues Employee Friendly CFAA Opinion

by Fisher & Phillips LLP on 8/3/2012

As readers of this blog know, we have been following the diverse and seemingly irreconciliable decisions from federal courts regarding the scope of the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act ("CFAA"), 18 U.S.C. § 1030. Last...more

Fourth Circuit Decision Deepens Split of Authority on Federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act's Prohibition on Conduct that "Exceeds...

by Davis Wright Tremaine LLP on 8/2/2012

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit has issued a ruling in WEC Carolina Energy Solutions v. Miller, holding that the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”) prohibition on exceeding “authorized access” to a...more

Ninth Circuit Gives a Narrow Interpretation of What Constitutes a Violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act

by Patton Boggs LLP on 4/13/2012

On March 22, 2012, Patton Boggs LLP posted a client alert (available here) on the antihacking Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), discussing that different federal courts were split on whether the CFAA imposes liability on...more

The Computer Fraud And Abuse Act Subject To Different Interpretations

by Patton Boggs LLP on 3/23/2012

Among its various provisions, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), 18 U.S.C. §1030, subjects a person who “intentionally accesses a computer without authorization or exceeds authorized access, and thereby obtains …...more

Employee Mobility Alert: Ends versus Means: Courts Vary in Their Interpretation of Employee Liability under the Computer Fraud and...

by Mintz Levin - Employment, Labor & Benefits on 10/15/2009

The federal courts are currently split on the question of whether an employee can be held civilly liable under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) for misappropriating confidential company information that the employee is...more

Monitoring Employees: Striking a Balance

by Morrison & Foerster LLP on 10/22/2007

The monitoring of employees’ electronic communications can be undertaken for various reasons, and is now standard practice among most, if not all, employers. However, when undertaking such monitoring, employers must ensure...more