By Jessica Mendelson and Robert Milligan On Wednesday February 20, 2013, the White House released a five-point plan (“the Plan”) intended to combat trade secret theft of American trade secrets. The plan is a collaboration between various federal agencies, including the Departments of Commerce, Defense, Homeland Security, Justice, State, Treasury, the Office of the Director of… Continue Reading
Tag Archives: new legislation
Is Massachusetts Next to Adopt the Uniform Trade Secrets Act?
Posted in Legislation, Trade SecretsWill Massachusetts join 46 states, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands in adopting the Uniform Trade Secrets Act (the “UTSA”)? In January 2013, the Massachusetts Legislature proposed House Bill No. 27: An Act Making Uniform the Law Regarding Trade Secrets. The bill seeks to repeal Sections 42 and 42A of chapter 93 of… Continue Reading
Big Brother Can’t Ask For Access To Your “Personal” Social Media Accounts Either….More Social Media Legislation Proposed In California
Posted in Data Theft, Legislation, Trade SecretsBy Robert Milligan and Jessica Mendelson Recently, we blogged about the passage of California Assembly Bill 1844 (“AB 1844”), which regulates employers’ ability to demand access to employees’ or prospective hires’ personal social media accounts. Assembly Bill 1844 was codified as section 980 of the California Labor Code. Recently, California State Assemblywoman Nora Campos has… Continue Reading
Illinois Becomes Second State In Nation To Bar Employers From Obtaining Access To Employee Social Networking Pages
Posted in Computer Fraud, Legislation, Practice & Procedure, Trade SecretsBy Ronald Kramer On August 1, 2012, Illinois became the second state in the nation to adopt a law prohibiting employers from seeking employee or prospective employee passwords to access their non-public portions of their social networking sites. The Illinois’ law, an amendment to the Right to Privacy in the Workplace Act that will become… Continue Reading
New Federal Trade Secrets Legislation Proposed
Posted in Espionage, Practice & Procedure, Trade SecretsBy Jessica Mendelson and Robert Milligan On July 17, 2012, Democratic senators Herb Kohl (Wisconsin), Sheldon Whitehouse (Rhode Island), and Chris Coons (Delaware) introduced legislation which they believe will aid American companies in effectively combating the theft of trade secrets. The proposed legislation, known as the Protecting American Trade Secrets and Innovation Act of 2012(“PATSIA”), will allow… Continue Reading
At Long Last, New Jersey Passes Trade Secrets Act
Posted in Trade SecretsLegislation intended to help protect the trade secrets of New Jersey businesses has been signed into law by Gov. Christie. The New Jersey Trade Secrets Act (S-2456/A-921) establishes by law specific remedies available to businesses in the event that a trade secret – such as a formula, design, a prototype or invention – is misappropriated…. Continue Reading
At Long Last, New Jersey Is Poised To Pass The “New Jersey Trade Secrets Act”
Posted in Trade SecretsBy David Monachino New Jersey is one of the four remaining states that have not adopted some or all of the provisions of the Uniform Trade Secrets Act (Massachusetts, New York and Texas are the others), but instead NJ courts have relied wide range of common law decisions in order to establish a trade secret… Continue Reading
Georgia Court Blue Pencils / Rewrites Overbroad Restrictive Covenant
Posted in Non-Compete EnforceabilityBy Bob Stevensand Daniel Hart As we have discussed on this blog before, on May 11, 2011, Georgia reissued its new Restrictive Covenant Act (the “New Act”). The New Act reflected a fundamental change in Georgia’s law regarding restrictive covenants because it permitted Georgia courts to “blue pencil” (i.e., partially enforce) restrictive covenants that otherwise would… Continue Reading
Massachusetts Legislature Considers Revised Non-Compete Bill
Posted in Trade SecretsOn January 20, 2011, Massachusetts State Representatives Lori Ehrlich, William Brownsberger, and Alice Hanlong Peisch re-filed the Massachusetts non-compete bill, aptly entitled “An Act Relative to Noncompetition Agreements.” The bill was originally submitted in late 2009 as House No. 1799, and since that time has undergone significant review, comment, and revision. While much of the… Continue Reading