The Attorneys General of ten states are investigating fast food franchisors for their alleged use of “no poach” provisions in their franchise agreements, according to a press release by the New Jersey Attorney General’s...more
Marc McGovern, the mayor of Cambridge, Massachusetts (home to many of the Commonwealth’s established and emerging pharmaceutical, biotech, and other life sciences companies), published an op-ed in the Boston Globe regarding...more
Democratic U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) introduced legislation on April 26, 2018, entitled the Workforce Mobility Act (“WMA”). ...more
Tervis Tumbler Company, the maker of the infamous insulated tumblers, has found itself in hot water with a former supplier, Trinity Graphic. ...more
3/8/2018
/ Aiding and Abetting ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Civil Conspiracy ,
Compensatory Damages ,
Confidential Information ,
Confidentiality Agreements ,
Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) ,
Disgorgement ,
Fraud ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Misappropriation ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
Punitive Damages ,
Trade Secrets
On December 6-8, the inaugural Sedona Conference on trade secrets took place in Scottsdale, Arizona. The invitation-only conference brought together outside counsel, in-house counsel, and experts to have an in-depth...more
On Monday, January 29th, Faraday & Future Inc., the electric car manufacturer founded by Chinese billionaire and entrepreneur Jia Yueting, filed a one-count Defend Trade Secrets Act complaint against Evelozcity, Inc., an...more
In a meaty decision involving the intersection of restrictive covenant and franchise law, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio recently denied a request by D.P. Dough Franchising, LLC (“D.P....more
12/15/2017
/ Breach of Contract ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Franchise Agreements ,
Franchisee ,
Franchises ,
Franchisors ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Misappropriation ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Tortious Interference ,
Trade Dress ,
Trade Secrets ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Unfair Competition ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
Unjust Enrichment
The Massachusetts legislature is back at it again. Under new leadership, the Joint Committee on Labor & Workforce Development recently scheduled a hearing for October 31, 2017 on the non-compete reform bills proposed in...more
The Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) states very clearly that an injunction issued pursuant thereto may not “prevent a person from entering into an employment relationship,” and that any conditions placed on a former...more
7/12/2017
/ Confidential Information ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Inevitable Disclosure Doctrine ,
Injunctions ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Misappropriation ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Non-Solicitation Agreements ,
Trade Secrets ,
TRO
Hearkening back to the rivalry between the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers in the 1980s, Massachusetts courts (as well as others around the country) have increasingly been asked to analyze the application of California...more
In a recent formal Ethics Opinion, the American Bar Association stressed that lawyers must make reasonable efforts to prevent inadvertent or unauthorized access to confidential information relating to the representation of...more
5/23/2017
/ American Bar Association (ABA) ,
Confidential Information ,
Confidentiality Policies ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Security ,
Electronic Communications ,
Email ,
Encryption ,
Law Practice Management ,
Popular ,
Young Lawyers
Last Friday, on January 20, 2017, the Massachusetts Legislature began its annual tradition of attempting to promulgate non-compete and trade secret reform in the Commonwealth. A new bill has been filed by the same legislators...more
This past Spring, we reported on the recently enacted Defend Trade Secrets Act (“DTSA”), which provides a new federal civil cause of action to trade secret owners seeking to pursue claims of trade secret misappropriation. ...more
12/21/2016
/ Affirmative Defenses ,
Confidential Information ,
Conversion ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) ,
Evidence ,
Immunity ,
Misappropriation ,
Motion to Compel ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Trade Secrets ,
Whistleblowers
Apparently there may be some life left yet in the Massachusetts Legislature’s attempt to pass non-compete reform this year. As we previously reported, the House and the Senate were unable to bridge their differences and...more
As the Obama administration winds down, its regulators are showing no signs of letting up. Last week the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) decided that it should no longer be constrained by its subpoena power...more
11/11/2016
/ Algorithmic Trading ,
Barack Obama ,
CFTC ,
Commodity Futures Contracts ,
Due Process ,
ETFs ,
New Regulations ,
Popular ,
Public Comment ,
Subpoenas ,
Trade Secrets ,
Trump Administration
Fresh off of signing the Defend Trade Secrets Act, the White House released a report yesterday entitled “Non-Compete Reform: A Policymaker’s Guide to State Policies,” which contains information on state policies related to...more
Earlier this fall, the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts transferred an employee’s declaratory judgment action to the Eastern District of Michigan pursuant to a forum-selection clause in a non-compete agreement over the...more
We’ve written a lot this summer about the Massachusetts legislature’s latest failed attempt at non-compete reform. Two other states in New England, however, are able to claim accomplishments in that regard. Specifically,...more
8/23/2016
/ Contract Terms ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Former Employee ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
New Legislation ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Non-Solicitation Agreements ,
Physicians ,
Restrictive Covenants
In what has become a highly anticipated annual game of “Will They/Won’t They,” the Massachusetts legislature again failed to pass comprehensive noncompete reform legislation this year, despite much fanfare and high hopes from...more
According to The Boston Globe, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker has publicly voiced his support for some restrictions on noncompete agreements, but he does not want to abolish them entirely. Specifically, Governor Baker...more
Although stealing bases, and even signs, in baseball may be part of the game, stealing another team’s trade secrets can land you in federal prison, as one executive recently learned the hard way.
As we previously...more
As we last reported, just a few weeks ago, the Massachusetts House of Representatives unanimously approved a non-compete bill that revised the original draft bill and addressed some of the business community’s concerns (such...more
As we previously reported, Massachusetts is making yet another go at non-compete reform, as the Joint Committee on Labor & Workforce Development introduced a compromise bill at the end of May that has many in the Commonwealth...more
The Massachusetts legislature is back at it again — as the Boston Globe reports, the Joint Committee on Labor & Workforce Development has sponsored a compromise bill with the goal of limiting non-competes in the Commonwealth....more
On May 5, 2016, the White House issued a report largely piggybacking on a recent U.S. Treasury Department study, on which we previously posted, with a primary focus on the purported misuse and negative impacts of non-compete...more