On Friday, January 29, 2016 at 12:00 p.m. Central, Seyfarth attorneys Michael Wexler, Robert Milligan and Joshua Salinas will present the first installment of the 2016 Trade Secrets Webinar series. The presenters will review noteworthy cases and other legal developments from across the nation this past year in the areas of trade secrets and data theft, non-competes and other restrictive covenants, computer fraud, as well as provide their predictions for what to watch for in 2016.

The Seyfarth panel will specifically address the following topics:

• New trade secret cases addressing damages, injunctive relief, and preemption;
• Practical implications of new state non-compete legislation in Alabama, Oregon, and New Mexico;
• Growing circuit split concerning applicability of Computer Fraud and Abuse Act in typical employee data theft scenarios;
• National and international efforts to improve trade secret protections, including the continuing attempt in the U.S. Congress with the proposed Defend Trade Secrets Act to create a federal civil cause of action for trade secrets theft, the European Union’s proposed directive to harmonize trade secret protection among the EU’s 28-member states as well as the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement’s impact on trade secrets;
• Significant new federal and state court decisions on non-competes and other restrictive covenants that may impact their enforcement, including concerns regarding adequate consideration for agreements and growing efforts by government agencies and employees to challenge and narrow their use;
• Recent NLRB pronouncements on employer policies and agreements and their implications for protecting trade secrets;
• Noteworthy data breaches and criminal prosecutions and criminal sentences for trade secret misappropriation, data theft, and computer fraud and discussion of lessons learned.