A Fairfax County, Virginia, jury in May 2022 found that Pegasystems Inc. (Pegasystems) misappropriated trade secrets from its competitor, Appian Corp. (Appian), and awarded Appian more than $2 billion in damages – the largest...more
The U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina rejected several claims brought by Design Gaps, Inc. a Charlotte custom cabinetry company against a former employee and a competitor. Design Gaps, Inc. v....more
A trade secret is any information used in one’s business that derives independent economic value from not being generally known. Trade secrets, unlike patents, are protected indefinitely for as long as they remain a secret....more
Compared to Q1 and Q2 of 2022, Q3 was relatively slow with respect to trade secret legislation and significant restrictive covenant awards and/or case law. Still, and as described below, two new statutes require a company’s...more
It’s common in trade secrets or noncompete cases for plaintiffs to demand forensic imaging and searching and, ultimately, destruction of electronic information contained on the defendants’ computer system or devices....more
Most litigators have at least a passing familiarity with the "sham affidavit" doctrine, under which an affidavit submitted in opposition to summary judgment that without explanation flatly contradicts the affiant's prior...more
Two recent decisions by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit shed light on several recurrent issues that arise in trade secret litigation under the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) and related state acts....more
After successfully appealing a judgement and obtaining a remand of its Chapter 93A claim to the Massachusetts BLS, the Governo Law Firm moved to admit expert testimony about a “reasonable royalty” measure of damages. Governo...more
In trade secret litigation, particularly among government contractors, defenses are sometimes asserted based on whether the plaintiff actually owns or retains a sufficient interest in the trade secret at issue. This can...more
A jury determined that Benton Energy Service Co. infringed a patent for improved drilling in offshore oil wells owned by Cajun Services Unlimited...more
Deregulation is the New Buzzword in Washington — Except in the Tech Industry - The past year has been a volatile one, from trade wars to the government shutdown to a stock market dive. One constant that U.S. businesses have...more
Federal trade secret litigation can be as costly and complex as patent litigation. Unlike patent litigation, however, there has been virtually no appellate guidance on the meaning and scope of the Defend Trade Secrets Act in...more
A recent order from the Northern District of California provides some succinct guidance on the relevancy of discovery concerning litigation funding. In Space Data Corp. v. Google LLC, 5-16-cv-03260, the court denied...more
Bringing a trade secret misappropriation claim in North Carolina may not be as easy as you think. In Krawiec v. Manly, the North Carolina Supreme Court recently made clear that any company seeking to protect its trade...more
John S.Artz (Member, Troy) and Chelsea M. Smialek (Associate, Washington, D.C.), successfully defended against a motion to dismiss or transfer based on the first-to-file doctrine in a dispute between two suppliers of...more
Please join attorneys from Fenwick & West's IP & Commercial Litigation Group for this half-day seminar featuring practical information and recent legal developments for technology companies, including in the areas of privacy,...more
A lawsuit asserting intellectual property claims and violations of a non-competition and non-solicitation agreement played a dominant role in the second season of HBO’s comedy “Silicon Valley.” Throughout the season, it was...more
On March 6, in a U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas case, Texas Advanced Optoelectric Solutions (TAOS) Inc. obtained a verdict against Intersil Corp. (Nasdaq: ISIL) for trade secret misappropriation, breach...more