Meritas Capability Webinar - California’s Prohibition Against Non-Compete Agreements (B&P Code § 16600), the Protection of Trade Secrets and the Practical Relationship Between the Two
Zynga May Shed Light on Its Own Practices in Going After Former Employee for Trade Secrets Theft
On January 26, 2023, Cigna Corp. (“Cigna”) sued CVS Health Corp. (“CVS”) and its newly hired chief product officer Amy Bricker (“Bricker”), in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, for allegedly...more
Last month, Vital Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Vital”), the manufacturer of the Bang energy drink, fell short in its post-trial challenge to a “monster” jury award in favor of Monster Energy Company (“Monster”). ...more
Earlier this month, the US District Court for District of Maryland denied a partial motion for summary judgment in a case filed by Infotek Corporation against Mr. Dwight Preston, a former employee. See Infotek Corp v....more
The US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed a district court’s finding of damages in a trade secrets case under Pennsylvania’s version of the Uniform Trade Secrets Act. The Third Circuit explained that it is...more
On August 20, 2020, the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed a $140 million jury verdict in a published opinion reiterating the important role of unjust enrichment damages in compensating victims of trade...more
The right to a jury trial is one of the most important features of modern trade secrets law. But as a recently issued Order from the Texas Fourth Court of Appeals (“Court of Appeals”) illustrates, the jury trial right is...more
After a weeklong June trial, a Texas federal jury awarded Six Dimensions, Inc. (“Six Dimensions”), a digital marketing firm, $287,000 for its breach-of-contract claim against its former employee but rejected its behemoth $50...more
From sweeping legislation to unexpected case law, and everything in between, 2018 brought a lot of changes to unfair competition law....more
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
On October 30, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit held that a moving party is not excused from showing irreparable harm prior to the issuance of a preliminary injunction in a trade secret misappropriation...more
Congress created the first statutory private federal cause of action for trade secret misappropriation when it enacted the Defend Trade Secrets Act (“DTSA”) on May 11, 2016. Although the DTSA has some material differences...more
On May 11, 2016, President Barack Obama signed into law the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA). Before the passage of the DTSA, each state had its own trade secret regime, whether through some variation of the Uniform Trade...more
While the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 (“DTSA”) has only been in effect for a few months, the first wave of cases raising DTSA claims have started to generate federal decisions. In what appears to be the first substantive...more
(Editorial Note: This is the second in our two-part series exploring recent litigation under the newly-enacted Defend Trade Secrets Act.) We’ve been tracking the development of the Defend Trade Secrets Act (“DTSA”) for...more
(Editorial Note: This is our first of a two-part series exploring recent litigation under the newly-enacted Defend Trade Secrets Act.) In late May 2016, Magic Leap, Inc. became a pioneer in trade secrets litigation...more
Following oral arguments (which we reported on in February), on May 20, 2016, the Texas Supreme Court issued its first opinion involving the Texas Uniform Trade Secrets Act, which was enacted in 2013. In December...more
Earlier this week, the Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development released proposed amendments to the Uniform Trade Secrets Act, which would include the creation of the Massachusetts Noncompetition Agreement Act. The...more
The federal Defend Trade Secrets Act (the “DTSA” or “Act”) became law on May 11, 2016. Here are a few highlights: - 1. The DTSA seeks to address the significant effects that trade secret misappropriation has on the...more
As we have previously discussed on the blog, President Obama signed the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) into law on May 11, 2016. Fortunately, while the law has many new components that businesses need to consider, parts of...more
The U.S. Senate has unanimously approved a bill increasing the protections available to companies for their commercial secrets. The Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 (DTSA or the Act) provides for the first time a truly...more
Relief may soon be coming for trade secrets plaintiffs longing for federal court. Last year we covered the introduction of the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA), compared it to the Uniform Trade Secrets Act (UTSA), and...more
An ex-employee’s former employer sued him for alleged violations of the Kansas Uniform Trade Secrets Act (KUTSA) and the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA). The first claim was based on the company’s hunch that he...more
In late December 2015, the European Union reached an agreement on the terms of a provisional Trade Secrets Directive, which was intended to harmonize the laws governing trade secrets and “improve[e] the effectiveness of the...more
Companies seeking protection under the California Uniform Trade Secrets Act (“CUTSA”) should consider the effects of CUTSA preemption on their litigation strategy. Under the well-known Silvaco Data System v. Intel Corporation...more
When your business depends on a carefully-crafted public image, you do not want the public to know how hard you work to maintain that image. These days, that includes preventing your employees from revealing too much via...more