Seyfarth’s Michael Elkon recently authored an article on Georgia’s new non-compete law and its potential effects on technology companies.  Using an extended metaphor to relate scenes from the movie Silence of the Lambs to the current legal regime, Michael argues that technology companies in particular should be interested in the statute because restrictive covenants matter so much to them:

Technology companies should be especially interested in HB 173. This is so because restrictive covenants are particularly important in the technology field. “Tech” companies have to be especially vigilant to protect their confidential, company-specific information because so much of their value is bound up in this information, unlike brick-and-mortar assets that dominate the balance sheets of companies in other industries. Instead, tech companies derive much of their worth from information that is, by its nature, portable. Also, because of the novelty of what tech companies often do, they are more likely to have key employees whose move to a competitor could have serious repercussions. The savvy tech company should have tailored agreements for its key employees, and HB 173 will give those companies more latitude in protecting their information and tailoring their agreements.

The article highlights a few of the new rules that Michael expects will be especially important for technology companies, such as the rules on the permissible scope of a non-compete or the requirements for a non-disclosure provision. Overall, Michael argues that the statute will provide greater flexibility for technology companies in protecting their interests, while acknowledging that technology companies may have a harder time poaching employees from their competitors.