In a long-awaited decision, the Supreme Court resolved a circuit split about whether an individual with access to a computer system violates the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”) by accessing information for an improper purpose. By a 6-3 decision authored by Justice Barrett, the Court held that an individual does not “exceed authorized access” within the meaning of the CFAA by misusing access to obtain information that is otherwise available to that person. While the case heard by the high court was a criminal case involving a former law enforcement officer’s criminal conviction, the decision nonetheless has broad ramifications for trade secrets and restrictive covenant litigation, as CFAA claims were often brought against employees who misused access rights to misappropriate information. The CFAA is a criminal statute that also provides a civil remedy, and CFAA claims were commonly raised to acquire federal subject matter jurisdiction, especially prior to the enactment of the Defend Trade Secrets Act in 2016, which provided an independent private cause of action in federal court for trade secret misappropriation.
Continue Reading Supreme Court Resolves Circuit Split on Access Under Computer Fraud and Abuse Act

On June 2, 2021, from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. EST, Seyfarth partner Erik Weibust will take part in a panel discussion for Thomson Reuters’ West LegalEdCenter on the ethical issues concerning non-competes, including:

  • What the lawyer exemption under Rule 5.6 of the Model Rules of Professional Conduct really means and how the confidentiality rules (Rule 1.6) and successive representation


Continue Reading Erik Weibust to Present “The Ethics of Noncompetes” for Thomson Reuters

On Thursday, May 6 at 12 p.m. Eastern, Seyfarth partner Erik Weibust and NERA director Kristopher Boushie will be presenting “Trade Secret Identification and Damages,” a webinar in NERA Economic Consulting’s Developments in Trade Secret Litigation webinar series. This webinar will cover relevant state and federal trade secret statues, discovery issues, and available non-monetary and monetary remedies, including:

  • What constitutes


Continue Reading Erik Weibust to Present Trade Secrets Webinar for NERA Economic Consulting

Seyfarth is a sponsor of the 2021 Sedona Conference on Developing Guidelines for Trade Secret Issues, taking place on June 21-22, 2021, and is taking place virtually. The conference will present for public dialogue for the first time the consensus, non-partisan publications from the Sedona Working Group 12 on Trade Secrets, including:

  • WG12 Commentary on the Proper Identification of Asserted


Continue Reading Seyfarth to Sponsor and Trade Secrets Partners to Present at the 2021 Sedona Conference on Developing Guidelines for Trade Secret Issues

Please join the Trade Secret Committee of the American Intellectual Property Law Association, which is chaired by Seyfarth partner Erik Weibust, for Part I of its Trade Secret Master Series: How to Settle Trade Secret Disputes with Jim Pooley. The event will be held virtually on March 9, 2021 from 12:30-1:30 p.m. Eastern.

Trade secret disputes are the messy divorces
Continue Reading Join the AIPLA Trade Secret Committee for a Trade Secret Master Class: How to Settle Trade Secret Disputes

Seyfarth partner Erik Weibust was recently named Co-Chair of the Trade Secret Committee for the Boston Patent Law Association (BPLA), Boston’s premier intellectual property organization for attorneys. This follows on the heels of Erik’s recent appointment as Chair of the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) Trade Secret Committee.

The goal of the BPLA is to provide educational programs and
Continue Reading Erik Weibust Named Co-Chair of Boston Patent Law Association’s Trade Secret Committee

Seyfarth Trade Secrets partners Erik Weibust, Jeremy Cohen, and Scott Humphrey authored “The Broker Protocol Celebrates Its Sweet Sixteen,” an article in Wealth Management. The article focuses on factors and questions that should be considered by business and legal decision-makers when thinking of joining or leaving the Broker Protocol, including:

  • What are the short term and long term business goals


Continue Reading Seyfarth Trade Secrets Partners Author Broker Protocol Article in Wealth Management

2020 brought with it a bevy of new challenges for companies of all sizes in every industry, not the least of which was protecting trade secrets and confidential information in the face of newly remote workforces. 2021 brings with it new hope and the promise of a return to “normalcy”—whatever that may mean in this changed world. But companies must remain vigilant about protecting their trade secrets and confidential information. As we enter the new year, here are ten resolutions that companies should make—and keep—to accomplish that important goal in 2021 and beyond.
Continue Reading Ten Trade Secret Resolutions to Keep for 2021 and Beyond

As we previously reported, President-elect Biden has issued a “Plan for Strengthening Worker Organizing, Collective Bargaining, and Unions” on his website, and it includes a statement that his incoming administration purportedly plans to “work with Congress to eliminate all non-compete agreements, except the very few that are absolutely necessary to protect a narrowly defined category of trade
Continue Reading Erik Weibust Quoted in Financial Times Trade Publication Ignites about Biden Plan to Abolish Non-Competes

President-elect Joe Biden has issued a “Plan for Strengthening Worker Organizing, Collective Bargaining, and Unions” on his website, and it includes an interesting statement about what his incoming administration purportedly intends to do about non-compete and no-poach agreements:
Continue Reading Will Biden Ban Non-Competes?