Last month, the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (“OSHRC”) refused to release SeaWorld’s new safety protocols for trainers interacting with killer whales, despite a recent court ruling that such protocols do not qualify for trade secret protection. The new protocols include new safety measures taken by SeaWorld in the wake of the death of trainer Dawn Brancheau, who was
Continue Reading A Whale of A Trade Secret. . . Or Not?

It’s time for yet another meal filled with trade secrets! 

Earlier this month, New York Pizzeria, Inc., a pizzeria chain with over thirty restaurants in the United States and the Middle East, filed a complaint in federal court in Texas alleging trade secret misappropriation.  New York Pizzeria alleged that a former employee, as well as individual restaurant owners, were conspiring
Continue Reading Careful, that Slice of Pizza You’re Eating Might Be Full of Trade Secrets…

Remember that Facebook photo of a friend’s vacation that you “liked” a couple of days ago?  Well, congratulations, you’ve just exercised your constitutional right to free speech!  This week, in an intensely followed case in the Fourth Circuit, the court held that “liking” something on Facebook is “a form of speech protected by the First Amendment.”

In Bland v. Roberts
Continue Reading Fourth Circuit Holds That Facebook “Like” Is Protected by the First Amendment

Breaking Bad is seemingly everywhere this month.  With only a few episodes remaining, die-hard fans of the television show have gone into overdrive.   We too, have caught Breaking Bad fever, and started to wonder, do the final episodes qualify as trade secrets?  If one of the show’s employees were to release the general plot narrative, would the show’s owners be
Continue Reading Are the Last Episodes of “Breaking Bad” Trade Secrets?

With the end of summer fast approaching, a new trade secret case filing caught our attention regarding one of the staples of the summer barbecue…the hot dog.

Who doesn’t love a good, old fashioned hot dog?  It just so happens that a pair of litigants agree with this sentiment!  In a case filed in Los Angeles this summer, Dog Haus
Continue Reading What’s for Lunch? Trade Secrets!

A New Jersey district court judge recently declined to dismiss trade secret claims against the Weather Channel, finding that the plaintiff Events Media Network Inc. (“EMNI”) had alleged sufficient facts to state a claim of trade secret misappropriation under the Georgia Trade Secrets Act. 

The parties first entered into a licensing agreement in the spring of 2008.  EMNI agreed that
Continue Reading Are Sunny Skies Ahead for Plaintiff After Clearing An Early Hurdle in A Trade Secret Case Involving Weather Service?

Is new consideration required for a valid covenant not to compete presented to an employee at the inception of their employment after they sign their offer letter? 

Under the majority approach, recognized in many states continued employment is sufficient consideration for a valid non-compete agreement.  However, a minority of jurisdictions, will not enforce a non-compete agreement offered for signature after
Continue Reading You’ve Already Signed Your Offer Letter– Can You Still Be Subject to a Non-Compete Agreement Signed at the Inception of Employment Without New Consideration? Pennsylvania Supreme Court Says Yes

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey recently charged a former employee with stealing trade secrets from a New Jersey medical technology company. 

The former employee, an Indian national, worked in a group at his former employer responsible for the manufacture of pen injectors and pre-fillable syringes.  He resigned from the company last month, and in the weeks leading up
Continue Reading Foreign Engineer Arrested For Trade Secret Theft Involving Medical Technology

Cybersecurity has become a growing concern in the United States.  Legislation impacting this topic covers a variety of fields, including national security and defense, trade and international relations, intellectual property, and even privacy and civil liberties.  As technology is constantly changing, so too are the types of restrictions in place.

A group of prominent American Senators recently introduced the Deter
Continue Reading Federal Legislation Proposed To Combat Cyber-Espionage