Employment Law Now VIII-150 - The FTC Noncompete Rule is Dead: What Now?
Balch’s Decision Dive: Texas Trial Court Struck Down the FTC’s Noncompete Rule
5 Key Takeaways | Recent Developments in United States Trademark and Unfair Competition Law
The FTC Issued a New Rule to Ban All New Noncompete Agreements
3 Key Takeaways | New York State Bar Association IP Section Annual Meeting
Trade Secret Two-Step: Part 2
Trade Secret Two-Step: Part 1
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Trending Now: An IP Podcast - False and Misleading Advertising, Label Review
JONES DAY TALKS®: 75 Years of the Lanham Act and Changes in U.S. Trademark Law
A little less than a year ago, businesses were scrambling to get ready for the then-impending Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) final rule that would have blocked nearly all non-compete agreements between employers and...more
Colorado has taken another step toward narrowing the circumstances in which restrictive covenants—such as covenants not to compete and customer nonsolicits—may be used. Senate Bill 25-083, which takes effect August 6, 2025,...more
It is well known that California takes a dim view towards restrictive covenants in the workplace. Business & Professions Code Section 16600 prohibits employee non-compete agreements, stating that “every contract by which...more
Florida just enacted a game-changer of a law that makes it the friendliest state in the country for enforcing non-competes – and could also revolutionize how tech companies view the Sunshine State as a place to set up...more
Just in time for grilling season in the Midwest, Hormel Foods Corporation (“Hormel”) filed a federal lawsuit in the District of Minnesota against its competitor, Johnsonville, LLC (“Johnsonville”), and two former Hormel...more
Piracy is defined as robbery by ship- or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, with a goal of stealing cargo or other valuables. During the Golden Age of Piracy, from the 1680s to the 1720s, infamous...more
In Latifi v The TDL Group Corp., 2025 BCCA 45, (Latifi) the BC Court of Appeal upheld the summary dismissal of a proposed class action against the Tim Hortons franchisor in Canada. The underlying dispute between the...more
Responding to a Non-Compete Violation - When an employer discovers a potential non-compete violation, they generally react within 1-4 weeks, though this can be shorter if the violation poses an immediate competitive threat....more
On Feb. 26, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Andrew Ferguson issued a “Directive Regarding Labor Markets Task Force” pursuant to which a Joint Labor Task Force is being organized consisting of the Directors of the...more
While the Trump administration appears to have little interest in defending the Federal Trade Commission’s regulatory ban on non-competition agreements in employment, the agency recently signaled its intent to scrutinize at...more
In a somewhat surprising development, the Federal Trade Commission just announced that it intends to continue scrutinizing noncompete agreements and other arrangements the FTC feels are unfair to workers. Last week, Federal...more
On February 26, 2025, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson directed the agency to form a new “Joint Labor Task Force” that will focus on enforcing federal antitrust laws to protect competition in labor...more
During the run-up to President Trump’s inauguration, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission issued their collective “Guidelines” to explain how they will assess whether business practices violate the...more
Recently, the Washington Supreme Court held that noncompete agreements for employees earning less than twice the minimum wage must be reasonable and narrowly construed. The court found that prohibiting employees from...more
Partners Vincent Cannizzaro and Barnaby Grzaslewicz recently presented Recent Developments in Delaware Restrictive Covenant Case Law: The Alternative Entity Creep, providing key insights into how Delaware’s courts are...more
In the final days of the Biden administration, the FTC and DOJ jointly issued antitrust guidelines on business practices that impact workers that replace the 2016 Antitrust Guidance for Human Resource Professionals, which...more
On January 16, 2025, in the waning hours of the Biden-Harris administration, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) jointly released their “Antitrust Guidelines for Business Activities Affecting...more
In the final days of the Biden administration and on the eve of significant agency turnover, the US Department of Justice Antitrust Division (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a new set of guidelines addressing...more
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission), in the final two months of the Biden administration, entered into two settlements in cases targeting the use of so-called “no-hire” restrictions in services agreements. In...more
On Jan. 16, 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission jointly issued new Antitrust Guidelines for Business Activities Affecting Workers, replacing the 2016 Antitrust Guidance for Human Resource...more
2024 was quite a year in unfair competition and trade secrets law, with the Federal Trade Commission’s final rule on non-competes garnering widespread mainstream media attention. While the FTC final rule has been set aside...more
We reported last month that the district court in the northern district of Texas had “set aside” the Federal Trade Commission’s recently finalized rule prohibiting employers from entering into, and enforcing, non-compete...more
“Magic words,” “TRAPs,” and the federal non-compete ban rising from the dead? October had several spooky developments in restrictive covenant law, but no need to be frightened! We’ve got you covered with updates, insights,...more
The legal arguments advanced in these court cases mainly concern whether the FTC has the statutory authority to enact such a ban. Shortly before the September 4, 2024 effective date of FTC’s ban on covenants not to compete,...more
On October 18, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) appealed to the Fifth Circuit a Texas federal court’s decision to strike down the FTC’s nationwide noncompete ban. This comes hot on the heels of the FTC’s September 24,...more