On January 22, 2013, United States Magistrate Judge Steven Shreder of the Eastern District of Oklahoma issued a report and recommendation, following Plaintiff Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc.’s motion for preliminary injunction against its former employee Todd Cahill, concerning whether certain social media communications constituted impermissible employee solicitations in violation of a restrictive covenant agreement. Pre-Paid… Continue Reading
Tag Archives: Trade Secrets
2012 Year in Review On Significant Trade Secret, Non-Compete, and Computer Fraud Cases, Legislation, and Developments Now Available
Posted in Breach of Fiduciary Duty, Computer Fraud, Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, Data Theft, Espionage, Legislation, Non-Compete Enforceability, Practice & Procedure, Restrictive Covenants, Trade Secrets, Unfair CompetitionWe are pleased to announce the publication of the Trading Secrets Blog 2012 Year in Review. The 2012 Review is a compilation of our significant blog posts from 2012 and is categorized by specific topics: Trade Secrets; Computer Fraud and Abuse Act; Non-Competes and Restrictive Covenants; and Legislation. As the specific blog entries, including our Top 10… Continue Reading
Chicago Breakfast Briefing: Protecting Your Most Valuable Assets – Trade Secrets, IP and Your Employees
Posted in Data Theft, Non-Compete Enforceability, Practice & Procedure, Restrictive Covenants, Trade Secrets, Unfair CompetitionIllinois and Federal laws have evolved significantly in recent years and as a result employers now have many tools available to protect themselves. Understanding these tools, as well as the impact of legal changes in this area, is necessary if a company intends on protecting its most valuable assets (i.e. trade secrets, IP and employees)…. Continue Reading
Video Interview: Discussing Zynga’s Suit Against a Former Employee for Alleged Trade Secrets Theft
Posted in Trade SecretsSeyfarth Shaw’s Jason Stiehl had the opportunity to speak with Colin O’Keefe of LXBN regarding an ongoing trade secrets suit filed by social games developer Zynga against a key former employee who joined an upstart competitor. In the brief interview, Jason explains the background of the case and the possible impact of this case on other litigation. Jason… Continue Reading
Speculative Fears Insufficient for Non-Compete Temporary Restraining Order Against Former Employee
Posted in Non-Compete Enforceability, Restrictive CovenantsWhile treats are in abundance on Halloween, a Minnesota employer recently received a trick when a federal court denied its temporary restraining order application. A Minnesota federal court held that an ex-employer’s apprehension that a former employee violated or would violate a non-compete and confidentiality agreement was entirely speculative and, thus, did not warrant a TRO. Sempris, LLC v. Watson,… Continue Reading
Religious Organization’s Trade Secret Misappropriation Claim Against Anonymous Blogger Survives Anti-SLAPP Motion to Strike In California Federal Court
Posted in Trade SecretsBy Robert Milligan, Joshua Salinas, and Jeffrey Oh Balancing the rights of businesses to protect their economic interests with the rights of individuals to freely express themselves can be a complicated act requiring nuanced application of the law; even more so when the business is of a religious nature. In a fascinating case out of… Continue Reading
“Prior Restraint” Doctrine May Preclude Enjoining A Newspaper From Publishing Misappropriated Trade Secrets
Posted in Trade SecretsA reporter for a business publication somehow obtained information contained in a privately held company’s confidential interim financial statements. As the reporter was about to disseminate that information in an email alert to the publication’s subscribers, the company sued, described the financials as trade secrets belonging to the company, and obtained from a Louisiana state… Continue Reading
Federal Judge In California Holds That Unauthorized Use Of Copyrighted Password-Protected Computer Diagnostic Software Can Be The Basis Of A Copyright Infringement Suit and Trade Secret Misappropriation Claim
Posted in Practice & Procedure, Trade SecretsBurroughs Payment Services manufactures document scanning equipment for banks and others. Embedded in the equipment are copyrighted computer programs, accessible only by entering a password, which provide the user with software to diagnose problems with the equipment. While servicing the equipment of a Burroughs customer, Symco Group allegedly accessed and used Burroughs’ software without that company’s authorization. … Continue Reading
Massachusetts Legislature Considers New Social Media Bill
Posted in Practice & Procedure, Trade SecretsBy Ryan Malloy and Erik Weibust The Massachusetts legislature recently joined the growing wave of states nationwide that are considering bills, which, if enacted, would forbid employers from requesting social media user names and passwords from employees or prospective employees. The issue of privacy with regards to social media accounts has garnered significant attention across the… Continue Reading
Hey Lumbergh, You Don’t Own My Facebook Account: Maryland Passes Legislation To Protect Employee’s Social Media Accounts
Posted in Practice & Procedure, Trade SecretsRecently the legality of requiring prospective hires to hand over social networking usernames and passwords received national attention when New York Sen. Charles Schumer and Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal asked the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate whether the practice violates federal laws. Although federal legislation has yet to be passed, state legislatures have begun to… Continue Reading
Upcoming Webinar – The New Risk: Employee Theft Of Trade Secrets And Confidential Information In The Name Of Protected Whistleblowing
Posted in Espionage, Trade SecretsCan Employees Steal Trade Secrets & Confidential Information To Support Their Whistleblower Claims? The answer: It depends who is adjudicating the case, as a sharp conflict recently has arisen on this issue between federal and state courts and the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). The DOL’s Administrative Review Board (ARB) recently suggested that such activities… Continue Reading
Mattel Appeals $310 Million Award in Bratz Case, Argues Trade Secret Counterclaim Was Untimely
Posted in Trade SecretsMattel recently appealed a $310 million award for its alleged misappropriation of MGA’s trade secrets and MGA’s attorney’s fees and costs in defense of Mattel’s copyright claim. In its opening brief, Mattel requests the Ninth Circuit to vacate or reverse the award on grounds that MGA’s trade secret counterclaim was untimely and barred by the statute… Continue Reading
Protecting Trade Secrets and Confidential Information In The Social Media Generation
Posted in Trade SecretsBy Robert Milligan and Jeffrey Oh Over the past decade, no avenue has had a bigger impact on society and the ways in which people interact than social media. Websites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, which traffic in information shared on its servers, encourage users to publish every detail of their lives. For employers, the reality of social… Continue Reading
Court Allows Employer’s Interference With Prospective Economic Advantage Claims To Survive In Lawsuit Claiming Employee’s Theft of Twitter Account
Posted in Trade SecretsBy Robert Milligan and Gary Glaser A California federal district court denied a former employee’s motion to dismiss his former employer’s claims for tortious interference with prospective economic advantage and negligent inteference with prospective economic advantage Monday in a closely watched lawsuit concerning the interplay between social media, trade secrets, and employee mobility. We previously wrote about this case from the United States… Continue Reading
After Ohio Jury Finds Trade Secret Misappropriation But Awards Zero Damages, Trial Judge Enters Injunction Order But Sets Royalty Payment As Alternative
Posted in Trade SecretsA manufacturer engaged an independent contractor to improve the efficiency of certain machinery. After the task was completed, the contractor did the same for a competitor of the manufacturer. The manufacturer, claiming that the improvements were its trade secrets, sued the competitor in an Ohio state court for misappropriation. The case went to trial before a… Continue Reading
Employers May Have Sweat Equity In Their Executives LinkedIn Accounts, But Employees Score Win In War Over The Applicability Of The Federal Computer Fraud And Abuse Act In The Workplace
Posted in Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, Trade SecretsBy Scott Schaefers In the age of social media and networking, where employees undoubtedly use their company-issued computers to network with customers, vendors, colleagues, and friends, a legal question presents itself: can employers claim an interest in their employees’ LinkedIn accounts, or other social networking accounts, which the employees use in part to grow and maintain… Continue Reading
What Does It Take to Plead a Claim for Trade Secret Misappropriation Claim Under the Uniform Trade Secrets Act?
Posted in Practice & Procedure, Trade SecretsIn Eastman Chemical Company, v. Alphapet Inc., et al., Civ. Action No. 09-971-LPS-CJB 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 127757 (Dist. DE) (November 4, 2011) (unpublished) Plaintiff Eastman Chemical Company ("Eastman" or "Plaintiff’) filed an amended complaint alleging patent infringement, breach of contract and trade secret misappropriation. Plaintiff alleged that former Eastman employees at the direction of… Continue Reading
2011 Trade Secrets Webinar Series – Year in Review
Posted in Computer Fraud, Trade SecretsThroughout 2011, Seyfarth Shaw LLP’s dedicated Trade Secrets, Computer Fraud & Non-Competes practice group hosted a series of CLE webinars that addressed significant issues facing clients today in this important and ever changing area of law. The series consisted of six webinars: Trade Secrets in the Financial Services Industry, The Anatomy of a Trade Secret Audit,… Continue Reading
Social Media and Trade Secrets Collide: Whose Twitter Is It, Anyway?
Posted in Trade SecretsBy Gary Glaser The United States District Court for the Northern District of California recently ruled that PhoneDog, an “interactive mobile news and reviews web resource,” could proceed with its lawsuit against Noah Kravitz, a former employee, who it claims unlawfully continued using PhoneDog’s Twitter account after he quit. PhoneDog v. Noah Kravitz, No. C11-03474 MEJ, 2011… Continue Reading
“Internet Communications” Alone Insufficient To Invoke Florida Long-Arm Statute Against Lindsay Lohan In Trade Secrets Misappropriation Suit
Posted in Trade SecretsWhite Wave International, Inc. filed an action in Florida against Lindsay Lohan, Lorit LLC, a company she has an indirect ownership interest in, and several other defendants arising out of a certain Confidentiality Agreement Between Firms (“CABF”) between White Wave and Lorit. It was alleged by White Wave that the CABF provided Lohan, Lorit and the other… Continue Reading
Seyfarth Shaw’s Downtown Los Angeles Office Hosts State Bar “Hot Topics in California Trade Secret Law” Program
Posted in Trade SecretsThe Trade Secret Subcommittee of the Intellectual Property Section of the State Bar of California will have a live program entitled “Hot Topics in California Trade Secret Law” on June 27, 2011 in Los Angeles, California and on June 29, 2011 in San Francisco, California. Seyfarth Shaw’s Downtown Office will host the Los Angeles event. … Continue Reading
Delaware Court Enjoins Use of Ex-Employers Trade Secrets
Posted in Trade SecretsDelaware Court of Chancery Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster, faced with an unreasonable non-compete/non-solicitation agreement, indicated that he would have preferred to hold it invalid but said that he had no choice other than to modify its terms because its Maryland choice-of-law provision requires judicial “blue penciling.” He did enjoin the ex-employee from using his ex-employer’s… Continue Reading
Court Declines To Stop Defendant From Seeking To Obtain Public Records That Contain Plaintiff’s Trade Secrets
Posted in Trade SecretsA federal court recently declined to issue a blanket injunction to thwart the defendant’s campaign to obtain trade secrets information through public records requests, stressing the right and importance of access to public records. The court also pointed out that some jurisdictions — such as Mississippi, which was one of the jurisdictions where the defendant sought documents… Continue Reading
The Infamous Voicemail That Promised a Bang But Went Out With a Whimper–Jasmine Loses Its Trade Secret Case Against Marvell
Posted in Trade SecretsBy Robin Cleary After nine years of protracted litigation, a Santa Clara jury unanimously decided that Marvell Semiconductor Inc. did not misappropriate Jasmine Network Inc.’s trade secrets and did not violate a non-disclosure agreement according to published reports. The lynch pin of Jasmine’s case was the infamous voice mail heard ’round Silicon Valley—in it, a… Continue Reading