Just over a month ago, employers throughout the United States breathed a sigh of relief after Judge Ada Brown in the Northern District of Texas issued a summary judgment ruling in the Ryan v. FTC litigation setting aside the...more
9/25/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Appeals ,
Arbitrary and Capricious ,
Confidential Information ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Motion To Stay ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Summary Judgment
Plaintiff Fujikura Composite America, Inc. (“Fujikura”) is one of the most prominent golf club shaft designers and manufacturers. Per Fujikura, in the 2022-2023 PGA Tour season, half of all PGA tournaments were won by a...more
On April 23, 2024, the FTC announced its Final Non-Compete Clause Rule (“Final Rule”), which bans post-employment non-compete clauses between employers and their workers. The Final Rule becomes effective 120 days after being...more
4/25/2024
/ Competition ,
Confidential Information ,
Contract Terms ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
FTC Act ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Labor Reform ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Restrictive Covenants
On October 12, 2023, the Wisconsin legislature introduced Assembly Bill 481, which proposes the ban of employee non-compete agreements in the Badger State. Currently, employee non-compete agreements in Wisconsin are allowed...more
11/2/2023
/ Competition ,
Confidential Information ,
Contract Terms ,
Employment Contract ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Trade Secrets
On January 1, 2022, the latest amendments to the Illinois Freedom to Work Act (“Act”) became effective. As we previously described, that Act sets forth various requirements governing restrictive covenant agreements in...more
2020 brought with it a bevy of new challenges for companies of all sizes in every industry, not the least of which was protecting trade secrets and confidential information in the face of newly remote workforces. 2021 brings...more
The “return to normal” in courts across the country has brought with it a flurry of trade secrets decisions that address some interesting and instructive issues, both procedurally and substantively....more
On April 16, 2020, the White House issued its “Guidelines for Opening Up America Again,” and several states have begun a slow process of emerging from the shutdown....more
One of the first things a company should do when it suspects that its trade secrets have been compromised or that an employee has violated post-employment restrictive covenants is to conduct an investigation. ...more
4/20/2020
/ Confidential Information ,
Data Security ,
Electronically Stored Information ,
Forensic Examination ,
Information Technology ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Investigations ,
Misappropriation ,
Remote Working ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Risk Management ,
Trade Secrets
As we have previously reported, courts across the country are adjourning most appearances, including trials, and hearing only “emergency matters” during the current COVID-19 crisis. ...more
When the COVID-19 crisis hit the United States (indeed, before it was even considered a “crisis” here), we provided tips for protecting a company’s trade secrets in the event employees were permitted to work from home. In the...more
In the world of trade secret and restrictive covenant litigation, time is often of the essence. Clients need to take immediate steps to prevent the harm that flows from the misappropriation of confidential information....more
Fear of the coronavirus is causing many employers to permit—or in some cases mandate—employees to work remotely. While this measure is designed to minimize the risk of virus transmission, it presents an altogether different...more
3/6/2020
/ Best Practices ,
Business Continuity Plans ,
China ,
Confidential Information ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Crisis Management ,
Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employee Monitoring ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Information Security ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Public Health ,
Risk Management ,
Security Standards ,
Telecommuting ,
Trade Secrets ,
UTSA ,
Workplace Safety
On February 25, 2020, Plaintiff Mustard Girl LLC (“Mustard Girl”), an award-winning mustard manufacturer, filed a lawsuit in the Circuit Court of Cook County for damages against its former co-packing partner, Olds Products...more
In Seyfarth’s second installment in its 2019 Trade Secrets Webinar Series, Seyfarth attorneys J. Scott Humphrey and Marcus Mintz focused on trade secret and client relationship considerations in the banking and financial...more
The Protocol for Broker Recruiting (“Protocol”) allows for reciprocal poaching of brokers. More specifically, if a broker leaves one Protocol firm for another Protocol firm, the broker can a) take certain account information...more