Trademarks, Non-Compete Agreements

Life After The FTC Ban: Alternatives To Non-Competes

Hendershot Cowart P.C. on 6/14/2024

The FTC's proposed ban on non-compete agreements is still making its way through the legal system, but businesses are already looking for alternatives to protect their interests. Keep in mind that it is not necessarily the...more

The Briefing: Brandy Melville Doubles Down Against Redbubble

Weintraub Tobin on 5/10/2024

Brandy Melville Doubles Down Against Redbubble The ongoing dispute between Brandy Melville and Redbubble over trademark and copyright infringement continues. Despite previous setbacks, Brandy Melville has filed a new lawsuit...more

New Jersey Federal Court Partially Enforces Noncompete Covenant Against Former Franchisee

Lathrop GPM on 5/10/2024

A federal court in New Jersey recently granted a franchisor’s motion for a preliminary injunction, enjoining the former franchisee from using the franchisor’s marks and violating the franchise agreement’s noncompete clause,...more

The Employment Law Reporter: Winter 2024

Rivkin Radler LLP on 1/9/2024

Here is what we cover in this issue of The Employment Law Reporter: •A federal district court in New York has dismissed employment discrimination claims brought under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 and...more

[Webinar] 2024 IP Outlook: Trends Affecting Patent, Trademark, Copyright and Trade Secret Holders - December 12th, 1:00 pm - 2:00...

McDermott Will & Emery on 12/6/2023

As 2023 draws to a close, new developments continue to emerge across the patent, trademark, copyright and trade secret spaces. Join members of McDermott’s Intellectual Property Group for a year-end review that will explore...more

Franchisee 101: An UnBakeable Non-Compete

Lewitt Hackman on 9/29/2023

A Minnesota federal court denied cookie dough franchisor Cookie Dough Bliss Franchising’s motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against a former Minnesota franchisee and its owners....more

Evaluate the Risks When Using Non-Competes

Ruder Ware on 9/28/2023

In today’s interconnected world, how to protect vital business assets such as key employees and confidential information is top of mind for businesses. Tools such as non-solicitation, non-compete and non-disclosure agreements...more

When Competition Crosses the Line, Level the Playing Field with Unfair Competition Litigation

Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard,... on 8/10/2023

By now almost everyone has read about or experienced the “great resignation” and its unprecedented levels of employee turnover. With that increased worker mobility, there has been a surge in unfair competition litigation,...more

Piling On - NLRB General Counsel Joins the Crusade Against Noncompete Agreements

Lathrop GPM on 7/28/2023

In a memorandum released on May 30, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (“NRLB”) General Counsel opined that noncompete agreements may violate the federal National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”). In doing so, the General...more

LADR Case Notes (August 2022-October 2022) and FLJ Currents (Winter 2023)

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP on 6/12/2023

A gym franchisor recently secured a preliminary injunction against its former franchisee prohibiting the franchisee from operating an independent gym on the same location and using the franchisor’s trade secrets. Chris...more

“If It’s Not Broken, Don’t Fix Break It”— The FTC Targets the Franchise Business Model

Foley & Lardner LLP on 4/3/2023

Historically, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has shied away from regulating the substance of franchisor-franchisee relationships. A recent FTC press release, however, suggests this may soon change. If so, it is by no...more

Do You Have the Rights? How to Maintain Investor Confidence When Using Third-party Intellectual Property

Mintz Edge on 12/6/2022

Imagine the following scenario: You, as the founder of a business, have spent the past three years building your company. You have been bootstrapping until now, but the company is at a crossroads and in order to grow the...more

Federal Appeals Court Rules on Franchisor’s Power to Impose Changes on Franchise System

Foley & Lardner LLP on 11/2/2022

The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently issued an opinion concerning a dispute over a franchisor’s effort to mandate changes to a franchisee’s operations. The Court granted the franchisor a mixed result. The decision...more

Beauty (and Value) In the Eye of the Beholder: What Is My Private Company Truly Worth

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP on 10/4/2022

It is common for private company owners to wonder what price they would receive if their company was offered for sale. When a business owner wants to formally determine the company’s actual value in the marketplace, however,...more

District Court Holds Non-Party in Contempt for Violating Preliminary Injunction

Holland & Knight LLP on 10/18/2021

In a recent decision out of the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, a court ruled that a non-party to a lawsuit could be held in contempt for violating a preliminary injunction entered against the defendants in...more

Florida Noncompete Law: Drafting Noncompete Agreements Under Florida Law

Fox Rothschild LLP on 6/16/2021

Florida’s noncompete statute, Fla. Stat. 542.335, provides numerous protections to employers or business purchasers who are looking to safeguard a company’s goodwill, trademarks and the like. Still, it is important to not...more

Intellectual Property Bulletin - Spring 2021

Fenwick & West LLP on 5/26/2021

In This Issue - Section 230 and the Future of Content Moderation - We analyze Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act—the 1996 law that provides a legal shield for internet providers from content created by their...more

Franchisee 101: Successor Slips Out of Non-Compete

Lewitt Hackman on 8/4/2020

A Florida federal court granted a preliminary injunction against a terminated franchisee. The court enjoined the ex-franchisee from using the franchisor’s trademarks and trade dress. The court enforced the franchisor’s...more

Securing Against Trade Secret Pitfalls and Dangers Arising From Employee Mobility Situations

Farella Braun + Martel LLP on 10/8/2019

Picture this: Your company is in a highly competitive industry with several leading players heavily supported by major corporate investors and/or venture capital funds. The market is expected to generate potentially hundreds...more

Maine Governor Restricts Restrictive Covenants

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on 8/7/2019

On June 28, 2019, Governor Mills signed LD 733, An Act To Promote Keeping Workers in Maine, into law. The Act places limits on non-compete agreements and bans restrictive employment agreements....more

Avoid Getting SLAPPed on Your Next Non-Compete Case

Nilan Johnson Lewis PA on 1/10/2019

Your employee quits without notice or explanation. You discover that she moved to a competitor in violation of her non-compete agreement, and what’s worse, days before her resignation, she downloaded your trade secrets onto a...more

FRANCHISEE 101: Til Expiration Do Us Part

Lewitt Hackman on 3/1/2018

Though an individual owner and operator of a formerly franchised Church's Chicken restaurant in Texas was not a signer of the franchise agreement, a district court ruled the individual was subject to the agreement's...more

Franchisor Protected from Unfair Competition, Not All Competition

Baker Donelson on 2/19/2016

The fine line between protecting your system's legitimate interests and trying to eliminate a competitor can be hard to define in advance. With social media so important for consumer businesses, the line is even more...more

Octane Fitness Changes the Landscape for Trademark Cases Too

McDermott Will & Emery on 11/21/2014

Fair Wind Sailing, Inc. v. Dempster - Addressing for the first time the application of the Supreme Court decision in Octane Fitness to trademark cases, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held that a...more

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