News & Analysis as of September 22, 2024

Breach of Duty

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A Trade Secret is any information, not generally known or easily ascertainable, by which an enterprise develops an economic advantage over competitors or customers. In order to maintain trade secrets' protected legal status, enterprises must make reasonable efforts to keep the information secret and prevent unnecessary disclosure. Trade Secrets may include processes, formulas, methods, designs, patterns, et cetera. less -

Employee Mobility and Trade Secrets in the Golden Era of Life Sciences Innovation

Proskauer - Trade Secrets on 5/21/2024

The life sciences sector is in its “golden era” of innovation with the convergence of disciplines—including genetics, immunology, cell biology, and artificial intelligence—changing the speed, efficiency, and cost at which...more

What do you have to Show to Prove that Someone Misappropriated Trade Secrets?

Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard,... on 4/3/2024

What must you show to prove that someone misappropriated trade secrets? The Arkansas Uniform Trade Secrets Act provides that misappropriation of trade secrets can be shown in one or more of three ways: acquisition or physical...more

CA Federal Court Awards Biomedical Companies $62M Following Jury Trial Involving Confidentiality-Related Claims

Proskauer - Minding Your Business on 3/6/2024

On November 1, 2023, a jury in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California awarded damages to Skye Orthobiologics, LLC (“Skye”) and Human Regenerative Technologies, LLC (“HRT”) for breach of contract,...more

Court of Chancery Finds Officer Liable for Competing With Corporation and Misappropriating Trade Secrets

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP on 12/27/2023

On September 1, 2023, Vice Chancellor Paul A. Fioravanti, Jr. of the Court of Chancery delivered a decision finding that the president of a plaintiff company and a second business the president had formed and served...more

Arizona trade secret law

Vondran Legal on 7/5/2023

Most states have a law that protects trade secrets. California, for example, has CUTSA (California Uniform Trade Secret Act). Arizona has the Arizona Uniform Trade Secrets Act ("AUTSA") found in chapter 4 of title 44 of the...more

Employee’s Fiduciary Duty May Not Be Limited To His Or Her Employer

Winstead PC on 8/30/2022

In Trench Tech Int’l, Inc. v. Tech Con Trenching, Inc., the son of an owner of a company, who was an employee, downloaded design plans and other information and went to another company who used that information. No....more

Massachusetts Court Bars “Reasonable Royalty” Evidence Based on Law of the Case Doctrine

Nutter McClennen & Fish LLP on 5/16/2022

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

Third Circuit Reverses Injunction in Trade Secret Misappropriation Suit

Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP on 11/22/2021

The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit took on the misappropriation of trade secrets recently, reversing a district court’s grant of a preliminary injunction halting competition by a company’s rival and two...more

The Plot Plot Thickens: Trade Secret, Tortious Interference, Fiduciary Duty Claims Survive Motion to Dismiss

McDermott Will & Emery on 11/11/2021

A judge from the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit sitting by designation in the US District Court for the District of Delaware denied a motion to dismiss claims of misappropriation of trade secrets, tortious...more

Trade Secret Misappropriators Fail to Launch in Rocket Facility

McDermott Will & Emery on 5/15/2020

Addressing a variety of challenges to a judgment against defendants in a trade secret misappropriation action, the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit found that the plaintiff had standing on the basis of lawful...more

Third Circuit Recognizes Trade Secret Misappropriation Claim by Party Possessing (But Not Owning) the Trade Secret

Proskauer - Law and the Workplace on 5/9/2020

It is not often that a United States Court of Appeals issues a decision on trade secrets, much less one involving the review of a bench trial that drew legal conclusions on the scope of trade secret law and the propriety of...more

Pennsylvania’s “Gist of the Action” Doctrine Does Not Preclude Trade Secret Claims

Holland & Knight LLP on 8/1/2019

Pittsburgh Logistics (PL) sued its competitor and former employee, alleging that the employee breached his employment agreement by working for the competitor and that he would inevitably disclose PL's confidential and trade...more

“Head Start” Damages Affirmed Against Employee Who Started Competitor in China

Holland & Knight LLP on 7/19/2019

An often sought remedy in trade secret cases is unjust enrichment, which DTSA and several uniform state trade secret acts permit plaintiffs to seek for the unlawful benefit received by defendants "that is not addressed in...more

Trade Secret Misappropriation and Employee Fiduciary Breach in ASML v. XTAL Results in Large Judgement

Spilman Thomas & Battle, PLLC on 6/10/2019

On May 3, 2019, following a jury verdict rendered last November, a Santa Clara, California court entered a final judgment for $845 million in favor of semiconductor maker, ASML, in its suit against rival, XTAL, for stealing...more

Zillow Sues Rival Compass Alleging IP Theft And Breach Of Contract Over Its Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, And Cloud...

Shook, Hardy & Bacon L.L.P. on 5/16/2019

Switching from defense to offense, Zillow Group, Inc., best known for its residential real estate marketplace technology, recently filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington alleging a...more

Court Allows Company to Surreptitiously Monitor Former Employee’s Social Media Account to Support its Trade Secrets Claim

Butler Snow LLP on 4/23/2019

A federal court of appeals recently found that there was nothing wrong with a company monitoring a departed employee’s Facebook account and using that information to pursue a trade secrets claim against four former employees....more

Court Concludes CUTSA Does Not Preempt Breach Of Fiduciary Duty Claim

Allen Matkins on 4/17/2019

The California Uniform Trade Secrets Act (CUTSA) provides various remedies for misappropriation of a trade secret (as defined). The legislature, however, was "vexingly oblique" in prescribing the effect of CUTSA on common law...more

Fed Seeks to Bar Two Bankers for Life for Stealing Confidential Information

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on 3/14/2019

After being slapped with a post-trial judgment last April totaling $2.2 million for misappropriation of confidential and proprietary information, two Wyoming bank executives were named in an unprecedented “Notice of Intent to...more

Ruling offers guidance for companies seeking injunctions to protect trade secrets

McAfee & Taft on 2/23/2019

Customers, trade secrets, and proprietary information are the lifeblood of any company. For this reason, companies routinely have employees sign confidentiality agreements and, to the extent they are enforceable,...more

Pennsylvania Federal Court Finds That Plaintiff’s Trade Secret Misappropriation Allegations Hold Up

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on 12/18/2018

A Pennsylvania federal court recently denied Defendant Synchrony Group, LLC’s motion to dismiss a trade secret lawsuit filed by Plaintiff Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Jazz”) holding that Plaintiff sufficiently stated a trade...more

Colorado Court of Appeals Confirms the Broad Scope of “Arising Under” Arbitration Agreements and Expands Duty-of-Loyalty Claims

Littler on 10/3/2018

On September 20, 2018, the Colorado Court of Appeals issued an impressive 41-page decision on the scope of arbitration agreements and the duty of loyalty in Colorado, Digital Landscape Inc. v. Media Kings LLC, 2018 COA 142...more

August 2018 IP Update - Non-Competition Agreements: Massachusetts Meets California Halfway

Sunstein LLP on 9/20/2018

California has long led the nation in its disdain for noncompetition agreements. Pressed by venture capitalists who believe that this gives California an advantage over other states, the Massachusetts legislature has finally...more

Massachusetts Legislature Passes Comprehensive Noncompetition and Trade-Secrets Reform

Foley & Lardner LLP on 8/9/2018

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

Can Attorneys Be Liable For Directing Clients To Breach Non-Competes? One Federal Court Says Maybe

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on 7/18/2018

In a classic example of bad facts creating bad law, a federal judge in Kentucky recently denied a motion to dismiss claims brought against attorneys who allegedly counseled employees to breach a non-compete agreement and...more

Tesla Seeks Inspection Of Former Employee’s Cloud Storage Accounts – Lawsuit Highlights The Need For Diligent Security Efforts By...

Shook, Hardy & Bacon L.L.P. on 7/11/2018

In a recently developing story, on June 20, 2018, automaker and renewable energy giant Tesla filed suit against its now former employee Martin Tripp in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada. ...more

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Trade Secrets › Misappropriation › Breach of Duty

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