Trade Secrets Year in Review Webinar

Tuesday, January 24, 2023
1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Eastern
12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. Central
11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Mountain
10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Pacific

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In the second installment of the 2023 Trade Secrets Webinar Series, Seyfarth attorneys will review the noteworthy legislation, cases, and legal developments from across the nation over the last year

Continue Reading Upcoming Webinar! 2022 Trade Secrets & Non-Competes Year in Review

Thursday, January 12, 2023
3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern 
2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Central
1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Mountain
12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. Pacific

REGISTER HERE

In the first installment of the 2023 Trade Secrets & Non-Competes Webinar Series, our team will focus on the new Federal Trade Commission’s (“FTC”) proposed rule banning the use of

Continue Reading Upcoming Webinar! FTC Proposes Rule Banning Use of Non-Competes. Now What?

Earlier today, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) published a proposed rule which would ban all non-compete agreements between employers and “workers” (broadly defined to include employees, independent contractors, interns, and others). If adopted, the proposed rule will bar both prospective and existing non-compete agreements. The FTC included an overview fact sheet describing the proposed rule.

The FTC is seeking public comment on the proposed rule, which is based on a preliminary finding that non-competes constitute an unfair method of competition and therefore violate Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act. This proposed rule aligns with the FTC’s recent statement to attempt to reinvigorate Section 5 of the FTC Act, which bans unfair methods of competition.

Continue Reading FTC Proposes Rule Banning Use of Non-Competes with Employees and Workers and Limiting Employer Protections Against Unfair Competition

Earlier this year, Seyfarth Shaw partnered to issue the 2022 Future Employer survey to clients and contacts. We surveyed in-house legal and business leaders to find out how they are thinking about the “Future of Work.” This was an important continuation of Seyfarth’s thought leadership endeavors related to futurist legal-thinking and the future of work, which we formalized five years ago with the inaugural survey in 2017. With respect to the protection of company data and intellectual property, the survey results highlight the need for companies to have thoughtful policies and procedures that address data usage and retention in a hybrid work environment.

Continue Reading Future Employer Survey Results Highlight Need For Companies To Implement Thoughtful Policies To Protect Company Data and Intellectual Property in Hybrid Work Environment

Seyfarth’s Trade Secrets, Computer Fraud & Non-Competes practice group is pleased to provide the 2022-2023 edition of our 50 State Desktop Reference, which surveys the most-asked questions related to restrictive covenants and trade secrets in all 50 states, plus the District of Columbia.

For the company executive, in-house counsel, or HR professional, we hope this guide will provide a starting

Continue Reading Now Available! 2022-2023 Edition of 50 State Non-Compete Desktop Reference

california lawyers associationRobert Milligan—Seyfarth partner and co-chair of the firm’s Trade Secrets, Computer Fraud & Non-Competes practice—is presenting the “Latest Developments in Trade Secrets Litigation and Protection” session at the California Lawyers Association 2022 IP Institute on Friday, November 4, in Dana Point, California.

For this panel, an experienced group of trade secret attorneys, who recently co-edited and co-authored the Trade Secret
Continue Reading Robert Milligan to Speak About the Latest Developments in Trade Secrets Litigation and Protection for California Lawyers Association 2022 IP Institute

intellectual property owners association conferenceOn September 18-20, Seyfarth partners Dawn Mertineit, Eric Barton, and Robert Milligan will be attending the Intellectual Property Owners Association’s Annual Meeting in Los Angeles. This event offers over two dozen education sessions, networking opportunities, committee meetings, and more.

During the event, Dawn will be speaking on a panel called “Hold on to Your Trade Secrets: The Winds of Change
Continue Reading Seyfarth Attorneys to Attend and Speak at IPO Annual Meeting

There are limited exceptions to California’s general prohibition of post-termination non-competition agreements. One such exception is the sale of business exception found in California Business & Professions Code § 16601. This exception allows a buyer to enforce non-compete agreements against a seller if the seller is an “owner of a business entity selling or otherwise disposing of all of his or her ownership interests in the business entity.”

In Blue Mountain Enterprises, LLC v. Owen, 74 Cal. App. 5th 537 (2022), the Court of Appeal found that section 16601 applied to a three year post-termination non-solicitation of customer provision in an employment agreement and upheld the trial court’s decision to enforce the provision against the executive/seller who entered into a joint venture. The court found that section 16601 applied as a matter of law because the defendant “dispos[ed] of all of his … ownership interest” in one transaction agreement while concurrently agreeing under an employment agreement and that both contracts, along with other contracts the parties executed, were drafted to accomplish the parties’ joint venture.  Id. at 553. The court also found that the trial court correctly found that the defendant’s letter for his new business constituted a solicitation as a matter of law because the letter went well beyond an announcement by actively encouraging customers to leave and do business with his new company. Id. at 556.
Continue Reading California Court of Appeal Enforces Non-Solicitation of Customers Provision in Joint Venture Transaction Involving Key Employee

The 2022 edition of The Legal 500 United States recommends Seyfarth Shaw’s Trade Secrets group as one of the best in the country. Nationally, for the seventh consecutive year, our Trade Secrets practice earned Top Tier.

Based on feedback from corporate counsel, Seyfarth partners Michael Wexler, Robert Milligan, and Kate Perrelli are ranked in the editorial’s “Leading Lawyers,” Joshua Salinas
Continue Reading Seyfarth’s Trade Secrets Group Earns Top Tier Ranking from Legal 500 for Seventh Consecutive Year