The judgments rendered in two recent 2014 federal criminal cases reveal the inherent complexity in prosecuting international trade secret misappropriation claims.

In U.S. v. Liew, Judge White of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California sentenced defendant Walter Liew to 15 years in prison for misappropriating trade secrets from chemical giant DuPont and selling them to
Continue Reading When Is The Possession of International Trade Secrets A Mistake Or Economic Espionage: Contrasting U.S. v. Yeh with U.S. v. Liew

The commercial and personal use of drones are becoming increasingly more prevalent. Indeed, there were allegations during the ongoing World Cup that a drone was purportedly used to spy on a team’s practices by an opponent who was looking to gain a competitive advantage. Josh Salinas weighs in on the potential threat drones may pose to the protection of trade
Continue Reading Josh Salinas Explains How Drones Could Pose a Threat to the Protection of Trade Secrets

By Robert Milligan and Joshua Salinas

A significant new bill was recently introduced in Congress seeking to add a federal civil cause of action for trade secret theft. 

On Tuesday, April 29, 2014, in a bipartisan effort, Senators Christopher Coons (D-Del) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), both members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, introduced the bill.

Senators Coons and Hatch’s bill,
Continue Reading Big Changes May Be Ahead for the Nation’s Trade Secret Laws

On April 11th, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the conviction and 41-month prison sentence of a Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) defendant, holding that he was tried and convicted in an improper venue.  U.S. v. Auernheimer, No. 13-1816 (3rd Cir. Apr. 11, 2014).  Though we usually do not post on procedural issues like these, we certainly
Continue Reading Third Circuit Signals Pro-Defendant Interpretation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act’s “Authorized Access” Provisions

With the ever-increasing need to maintain communications with customers and your employees, mobile phones have become a requirement for business people. Spanish telecommunications company Geeksphone is targeting the business market with Blackphone, the first mobile phone that encrypts data transmissions. No one would argue against the value of increased wireless data security, but do CIA-style cellular phones really provide enough
Continue Reading Covert Cellular: Enough Protection for Trade Secrets?

Why spend millions of dollars employing a bunch of bright, talented employees to develop your business when you can just hire a worker from your rival to steal all their research?  As on every test you took in school, isn’t getting the right answer more important than figuring out how to solve the problem?

Competition for business is fierce.  Small
Continue Reading Global Business 101: Hire Your Competitor as a “Consultant”

Spell check features in word processing programs sent correction fluid the way of the buggy whip. Walter Liew and Robert Maegerle, however, saw a $28 million dollar payout to sell the secrets to, among other things, typewriter correction fluid. It is doubtful that they can “white out” the bars of their new prison cells, though.

Liew, a California engineering consultant,
Continue Reading Chinese Espionage Latest Target: Correction Fluid

By Robert Milligan and Joshua Salinas

As part of our annual tradition, we are pleased to present our discussion of the top 10 developments/headlines in trade secret, computer fraud, and non-compete law for 2013. Please join us for our complimentary webinar on March 6, 2014, at 10:00 a.m. P.S.T., where we will discuss them in greater detail. As with all
Continue Reading Top 10 Developments/Headlines in Trade Secret, Computer Fraud, and Non-Compete Law in 2013

On Thursday, March 6, 2014 at 12:00 p.m. Central, Michael Wexler, Jim McNairy and Josh Salinas will present Seyfarth’s first installment of its 2014 Trade Secrets Webinar series. They will review noteworthy cases and other legal developments from across the nation this past year in the areas of trade secret and data theft, non-compete enforceability, computer fraud, and the
Continue Reading Upcoming Webinar: 2013 National Year in Review — What You Need to Know About the Recent Cases/Developments in Trade Secrets, Non-Compete and Computer Fraud Law

On Tuesday, December 11, 2013 at 12:00 p.m. Central, Seyfarth attorneys Michael D. Wexler, Molly M. Joyce and Justin K. Beyer will present the twelfth and final installment in our 2013 Trade Secrets webinar series, focusing on criminal liability for trade secret misappropriation.

The topics they will cover include

  • Trade secret misappropriation: what it is and how does it happen


Continue Reading Upcoming Webinar: The Stakes Just Got Higher – Criminal Prosecution of Trade Secret Misappropriation