News & Analysis as of September 23, 2024

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Non-Compete Agreements are contracts, typically formed in employment or business purchase contexts, where one party agrees to refrain from engaging in a particular line of work or pursuing business within a certain industry or locale. The purpose of these agreements is to protect employers or business purchasers from competition stemming from former employees or former owners of a business. less -

Texas Federal Court Strikes Down FTC Ban on Non - Competes in Ryan v. FTC

Houston Harbaugh, P.C. on 8/22/2024

The long awaited collision between the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the varied political and legal opinions on the legality of Employment Non-Compete Agreements (Non-Competes) is now moving up the ladder of...more

Seismic Shift in Employment and Intellectual Property Rights: FTC’s Nationwide Ban on Noncompete Agreements

Houston Harbaugh, P.C. on 8/19/2024

30 million is a BIG number! That is the estimated number of employment contracts that could be impacted by the Federal Trade Commission’s new rule banning non-competes, if it goes into effect on September 4, 2024, as...more

UPDATE: FTC Publishes Final Rule Banning Non-Competes: A Simple Explanation

Davis Wright Tremaine LLP on 5/9/2024

Update: The FTC published the Final Non-Compete Clause Rule on May 7, 2024, with an effective date of September 4, 2024. We have updated this advisory, originally published April 23, 2024, after the vote to approve the final...more

FTC Issues Final Rule Banning (Almost All) Non-Compete Agreements

Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox P.L.L.C. on 5/9/2024

On May 7, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a Final Rule that renders invalid non-compete clauses in standard employment agreements. 16 C.F.R. § 910. Although some limited exceptions apply, this new regulation...more

FTC Final Rule Banning Non-Competes Faces Uncertainty

Axinn, Veltrop & Harkrider LLP on 5/8/2024

The Federal Trade Commission’s final rule banning non-competes was published in the Federal Register Tuesday, potentially becoming effective on September 4, 2024. The new rule would prohibit employers from imposing...more

FTC Issues Final Rule Banning Non-Compete Agreements

Rumberger | Kirk on 4/30/2024

On April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission voted in favor of issuing a Final Rule banning non-compete agreements, declaring them an unfair method of competition. The Final Rule will go into effect 120 days after being...more

FTC Voting April 23, 2024 on Proposed Ban on Noncompetes

Morrison & Foerster LLP on 4/17/2024

As we last reported in March, the Federal Trade Commission’s (the “Commission’s”) final vote on its Proposed Rule to Ban Noncompetes (“Proposed Rule”) was slated to take place as early as April 2024. Today, the Commission...more

Minnesota Reforms Law to Ban (Almost) All Noncompete Agreements

Holland & Hart LLP on 8/4/2023

Agreements not to compete have existed as part of the common law for hundreds of years.1 These restraining agreements are designed to reduce economic harm to an employer when a “key” employee departs and are often required at...more

[Webinar] Luminary Series: Five Healthcare Litigation Trends For 2022 - A Discussion with Jon Braunstein, Partner at Dentons -...

Hanzo on 9/6/2022

Health care is a highly innovative, lucrative, and regulated industry, which also makes it a highly litigious industry. From a legal perspective, it makes sense for practitioners to pay close attention to trends happening in...more

2020 Update: Can your social media (e.g., LinkedIn) contacts be your employer’s trade secret?

Downs Rachlin Martin PLLC on 11/18/2020

Employers and employees alike use social media to promote and define their businesses and themselves in the digital space. From personal connections on Facebook, to professional marketing on LinkedIn, these connections on...more

Top 10 Developments and Headlines in Trade Secret, Non-Compete, and Computer Fraud Law for 2019 & 2020

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on 2/27/2020

Continuing our annual tradition, we have compiled our top developments and headlines for 2019 & 2020 in trade secret, non-compete, and computer fraud law. Here’s what you need to know to keep abreast of the ever-changing law...more

Zillow Sues Rival Compass Alleging IP Theft And Breach Of Contract Over Its Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, And Cloud...

Shook, Hardy & Bacon L.L.P. on 5/16/2019

Switching from defense to offense, Zillow Group, Inc., best known for its residential real estate marketplace technology, recently filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington alleging a...more

For The First Time, A Massachusetts Court Weighs In On The New Noncompetition Agreement Act – Well, Sort Of

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on 3/1/2019

As we’ve previously written about on this blog, last summer the Massachusetts legislature passed a non-compete reform bill which went into effect on October 1, 2018. ...more

Exit Stage Left –Tips For When A Key Employee Moves To A Competitor

Amundsen Davis LLC on 2/28/2019

As with most things in life, you should hope for the best, but plan for the worst in the event that a valued employee leaves to join a competitor. This post contains some helpful tips to keep in mind following such a move by...more

New Hampshire Senate Seeks to Ban Non-Competes for Low-Wage Workers

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on 2/27/2019

On February 21, 2019, the New Hampshire Senate, in a bipartisan voice vote and without debate, passed Senate Bill 197, which would prohibit employers from requiring low-wage workers to enter into non-compete agreements, and...more

Unfair Competition: What Happened in 2018, and What's in Store for 2019

Littler on 2/11/2019

From sweeping legislation to unexpected case law, and everything in between, 2018 brought a lot of changes to unfair competition law....more

Massachusetts Noncompete and Trade Secret Reform Will Have Far-Reaching Impact

Jones Day on 10/26/2018

Businesses across the country are feeling the effects of a pair of laws recently enacted in Massachusetts. The "garden leave" clause in Massachusetts' new noncompete law dictates that during the period in which a departed...more

Ninth Circuit Confirms “No Re-Hire” Clauses Can Constitute Unlawful Restraints Of Trade In California

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on 10/2/2018

Back in 2015, we covered the divided holding of the Ninth Circuit in Golden v. California Emergency Physicians Medical Group, that a “no re-hire” provision in a settlement agreement could constitute a restraint of trade in...more

New York Attorney General’s Office Reaches Another Settlement Over Non-Competes

BakerHostetler on 9/26/2018

Last week, the Office of the New York Attorney General (NYAG’s Office) reached a settlement with WeWork, a New York City-based company that provides shared “co-work” spaces nationwide and internationally – and, notably, is...more

Massachusetts Legislature Passes Comprehensive Noncompetition and Trade-Secrets Reform

Foley & Lardner LLP on 8/9/2018

The Massachusetts General Court has passed legislation that, if signed by the governor, will comprehensively reform the law governing employee noncompetition agreements and trade-secret misappropriation. If enacted, these...more

Top Developments/Headlines in Trade Secret, Computer Fraud, and Non-Compete Law in 2017

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on 2/19/2018

Continuing our annual tradition, we present the top developments/headlines for 2017/2018 in trade secret, computer fraud, and non-compete law....more

Massachusetts Once Again Is Considering Enacting Comprehensive Noncompete Legislation

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,... on 12/1/2017

For nearly a decade, Massachusetts legislators have considered various bills aimed at regulating the use of noncompetition agreements in the commonwealth. Noncompetes currently are governed by Massachusetts case law which,...more

Non-Compete and Trade Secret Law in Utah: What’s Changed, What Hasn’t Changed and How to Prepare for What’s Ahead

Payne & Fears on 11/30/2017

The general rule in the United States has historically permitted non-competition agreements when they are reasonable in time and geographic scope. California has been the leading exception. Business and Professions Code...more

Departing Employees: Ensuring Protection of Trade Secrets and Intellectual Property

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,... on 9/25/2017

“Knowledge is power” goes the old adage. Well, that is certainly true in the world of business where secret processes, confidential designs, and even a good customer list can give a business a vital commercial edge over its...more

Courts Continue to Enforce Foreign Non-Competes in California While the Window for Such Agreements Slowly Closes

Orrick - Trade Secrets Group on 7/13/2017

Contrary to common perception, California employees who signed restrictive covenants prior to January 1, 2017 are not completely immune to enforcement of all restrictions on competition. For the second time in several years,...more

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