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
*As of August 20, 2024, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas has blocked the FTC's impending ban on non-compete agreements. Please see the update at the end of this alert. Trade secrets...more
Trade secrets exist, by definition, only if the owner takes reasonable measures to maintain their secrecy. This is true under the Federal, State and Uniform Trade Secret Acts. Companies have traditionally used...more
Addressing a bench trial decision concerning a former employee’s retention of confidential information and violation of a non-compete provision, the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit found no abandonment of the...more
From sweeping legislation to unexpected case law, and everything in between, 2018 brought a lot of changes to unfair competition law....more
With the holidays behind us and our calendars flipped over to 2019, we’re taking a look back at some key trade secrets developments of the past year. ...more
Over the last decade, non-compete reform has been a third rail of Massachusetts politics. Although many employers believe non-compete agreements are necessary to protect their trade secrets and confidential information,...more
After nearly a decade of debate, Massachusetts has passed comprehensive legislation limiting the use of noncompetition agreements. Last Friday, Gov. Charlie Baker officially signed “An Act Relative to the Enforcement of...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
Executive Summary and Takeaway: Trade secrets and confidential information are receiving increasing protection in many states, and as more states perceive this as a "business friendly" issue, this trend will continue and...more
As we previously reported, the Massachusetts House and Senate passed contrasting versions of non-compete reform bills in 2016 but were unable to come to an agreement by the end of the legislative session. Efforts began anew...more
The federal Defend Trade Secrets Act (the President signed it on May 11th) went on the books with a lot of fanfare. For the first time, employers (and other trade secret owners) have a federal law claim for trade secret...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
Hawaii joined the small list of states that prohibit certain non-compete agreements with employees. On June 26, 2015, Hawaii’s governor David Ige signed Act 158 which voids any “noncompete clause or a nonsolicit clause...more