In the second installment of the 2023 Trade Secrets Webinar Series, Seyfarth attorneys reviewed noteworthy legislation, cases, and legal developments from across the nation over the last year in the areas of trade secrets and data theft, non-competes and other restrictive covenants, and computer fraud. Plus, they provided predictions for what to expect in 2023.
As a conclusion to this
Continue Reading Webinar Recap! 2022 Trade Secrets & Non-Competes Year in Review
The FTC’s proposed rule banning non-competes with employees and workers has now been published in the Federal Register.
The rule would provide that noncompete clauses are an unfair method of competition and as a result, the rule would ban employers from entering noncompete clauses with their employees and workers (defined by the FTC to include independent contractors and others). The rule would require employers to rescind existing noncompete clauses with workers and actively inform their employees that the contracts are no longer in effect. The rule would include a limited exception for non-compete clauses between the seller and buyer of a business. This exception would only be available where the party restricted by the non-compete clause is an owner, member, or partner holding at least a 25% ownership interest in a business entity.
On January 4, 2023, the Dallas Court of Appeals in Texas affirmed a summary judgment in a trade secrets physician staffing case that stands as a warning to practitioners regarding (1) what constitutes sufficient damages evidence to survive summary judgment, and (2) whether something can be considered on appeal that has been sealed or subject to a confidentiality agreement.
On Thursday, January 19 at 10 a.m. Eastern, Boston partner Dawn Mertineit is presenting a webinar for the Federal Bar Association and myLawCLE. The “Drafting and Enforcing Restrictive Covenants in Multiple Jurisdictions” webinar covers best practices and key tips for businesses with employees in multiple jurisdictions, from drafting restrictive covenants agreements, implementing a plan to roll those agreements out, and
Continue Reading Dawn Mertineit to Present Webinar on Drafting and Enforcing Restrictive Covenants in Multiple Jurisdictions
In the first installment of our 2023 Trade Secrets & Non-Competes Webinar Series, Seyfarth partners Kate Perrelli, Michael Wexler, Robert Milligan, Dan Hart, and Dawn Mertineit discussed the new Federal Trade Commission’s (“FTC”) proposed rule banning the use of non-competes with employees and workers. The expert panel addressed what the proposed rule would do and what employers need to know
Continue Reading Webinar Recap! FTC Proposes Rule Banning Use of Non-Competes. Now What?
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
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
As our colleagues have previously reported in this blog, on January 5, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) concerning its unprecedented effort to ban all non-compete clauses with workers and to preempt state law on the issue. The NPRM followed just one day after the FTC announced that it had reached a consent settlement with three companies for alleged unfair trade practices by imposing overly burdensome non-compete agreements.
Not surprisingly, the NPRM has sparked a surge of commentary in the legal and business communities and immediately courted controversy. The sole Republican member of the FTC, Commissioner Christine S. Wilson, issued a vigorous dissent, arguing:
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
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.
Throughout 2022, our dedicated Trade Secrets, Computer Fraud & Non-Compete practice group hosted a series of CLE webinars that addressed significant trade secret and restrictive covenant issues facing companies today. This year’s series included:
As a conclusion to our 2022 webinar series, we compiled a list of key takeaway points for each program. For those who missed any of the programs in this year’s series, recordings of all of our past webinars are available on the blog, or you may click on the link for each webinar below to view the recording.
Continue Reading 2022 Trade Secrets Webinar Series: Takeaways & Recordings