Meritas Capability Webinar - California’s Prohibition Against Non-Compete Agreements (B&P Code § 16600), the Protection of Trade Secrets and the Practical Relationship Between the Two
Zynga May Shed Light on Its Own Practices in Going After Former Employee for Trade Secrets Theft
For companies, maintaining a competitive advantage over the market is necessary for long-term growth. In many cases, this competitive advantage takes the form of a federal- or state-protected trade secret, such as a...more
Understanding the definition of a trade secret under federal law is crucial for businesses looking to protect their valuable information. Trade secrets are also defined by state law. While there is no single, universal...more
*As of August 20, 2024, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas has blocked the FTC's impending ban on non-compete agreements. Please see the update at the end of this alert. Trade secrets...more
Trade secrets exist, by definition, only if the owner takes reasonable measures to maintain their secrecy. This is true under the Federal, State and Uniform Trade Secret Acts. Companies have traditionally used...more
How do you protect trade secrets? You take reasonable efforts to maintain the secrecy of the information. As we have outlined in prior installments of this series, taking reasonable efforts to maintain secrecy is a key issue...more
Can you get a court to stop someone from sharing customer/client lists in Arkansas? As explained in this blog post, it depends. But often the question is debatable and hiring an attorney experienced in unfair competition...more
The Arkansas civil and criminal statutes referenced in our prior blog posts on the subject each have their own definition of what constitutes a trade secret. The applicable definitions are highlighted below....more
A trade secret derives its value by being kept secret, yet a trade secret owner is required to identify its trade secret at some point during litigation to apprise the defendant as to what information was allegedly...more
Biotechnology companies in the healthcare/pharmaceutical realm are in an exceptionally competitive field, with many companies competing against each other for a chance to market similar innovative therapeutics. These...more
Exploring business partnerships often involves or even requires sharing highly confidential trade secret information. The data center industry is no exception, and its participants have in recent years faced litigation...more
Real estate startup HouseCanary made headlines when it secured a $700 million judgment against Title Source, Inc., now known as Amrock, in a trade secrets misappropriation case. In short, HouseCanary claimed that Amrock...more
At the end of 2019, Coty Inc. (“Coty”) expanded its brand portfolio by closing a notable $600 million deal for a majority stake in reality star Kylie Jenner’s young cosmetics company, King Kylie LLC (d/b/a Kylie Cosmetics)....more
The right to a jury trial is one of the most important features of modern trade secrets law. But as a recently issued Order from the Texas Fourth Court of Appeals (“Court of Appeals”) illustrates, the jury trial right is...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Knowledge that a competitor or former employee is misappropriating trade secrets is difficult to come by. At the same time, however, once a company has notice that misappropriation may be occurring, the...more
In Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia v. One Sixty Over Ninety, the Georgia Court of Appeals held recently that a state entity is not immune from trade secret claims brought under the Georgia Trade Secrets...more
When many people think of trade secrets, they envision something mysterious and legendary—such as the original Coca-Cola formula locked in an Atlanta vault, or Col. Sanders’ recipe for fried chicken. But many companies have...more
Hiring external contractors is common practice in the fast-paced tech-industry where talent is scarce and in high-demand, but such a practice can expose a company’s most valuable IP to the confidentiality measures, or lack...more
You are a state-government contractor. You respond to an RFP issued by a state-government entity. In your bid proposal, you submit documents that contain your trade secrets. You do not get the contract, but you later learn...more
Unit pricing and other confidential information contained within your bid documents may be recognized as a trade secret under Ohio’s Uniform Trade Secret Act and similar federal laws. What does that mean? In simple terms, it...more
On September 13, the Ninth Circuit heard oral arguments on an issue of first impression in Anheuser-Busch Cos. v. James Clark, No. 17-15591 (9th Cir. 2015). ...more
Earlier this month, a federal court in the Middle District of Tennessee denied an employer’s motion to compel arbitration, finding that it waived its right to arbitration by engaging in litigation....more
On October 6, 2017, a federal jury in Utah entered a $2.1 million trade secret verdict in favor of Bimbo Bakeries USA. Following a trial that wrapped up more than four years of litigation, the jury concluded that defendant...more
Trade secrets derive their commercial value from being secret. When trade secrets are misappropriated, litigation may be necessary to stop a competitor from exploiting them in the marketplace. Yet litigating...more
Christopher Hughes worked for Age Industries, Ltd. (“AI”) for nearly 20 years. He was the general manager of one of AI’s branch facilities and a limited partner of the company. In this role, Hughes had access to much of AI’s...more
On Thursday, Waymo LLC sued Uber Technologies and Ottomotto LLC in federal court in the Northern District of California for: (1) violation of the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act; (2) violation of California’s Uniform Trade...more