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We are pleased to announce the publication of the Trading Secrets Blog 2012 Year in Review.

The 2012 Review is a compilation of our significant blog posts from 2012 and is categorized by specific topics: Trade Secrets; Computer Fraud and Abuse Act; Non-Competes and Restrictive Covenants; and Legislation.

As the specific blog entries, including our Top 10 Developments/Headlines in …
Continue Reading 2012 Year in Review On Significant Trade Secret, Non-Compete, and Computer Fraud Cases, Legislation, and Developments Now Available

Illinois and Federal laws have evolved significantly in recent years and as a result employers now have many tools available to protect themselves. Understanding these tools, as well as the impact of legal changes in this area, is necessary if a company intends on protecting its most valuable assets (i.e. trade secrets, IP and employees).

Please join us for an…
Continue Reading Chicago Breakfast Briefing: Protecting Your Most Valuable Assets – Trade Secrets, IP and Your Employees

By Robert Milligan and Joshua Salinas

As part of our annual tradition, here is our list of the top 10 developments/headlines in trade secret, computer fraud, and non-compete law for 2012.

Last year we predicted that in 2012 we would see a significant increase in social media cases and this year did not disappoint.  In fact, we saw several disputes…
Continue Reading Top 10 Developments/Headlines in Trade Secret, Computer Fraud, and Non-Compete Law in 2012

Throughout 2012, Seyfarth Shaw LLP’s dedicated Trade Secrets, Computer Fraud & Non-Competes Practice Group hosted a series of CLE webinars that addressed significant issues facing clients today in this important and ever changing area of law. The series consisted of eight webinars:

1) Employee Privacy, Social Networking at Work, and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act Standoff;
2) Employee Theft…
Continue Reading 2012 Trade Secrets, Computer Fraud, and Non-Competes Webinar Series – Year in Review

By Robert Milligan and Jessica Mendelson

We have previously blogged on the colorful sports agent case of Mintz v. Mark Bartelstein & Associates d/b/a Priority Sports & Entertainment et al., Case No. 12-02554 SVW (SSX), (C.D. Cal.), where Aaron Mintz, a National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) certified player-agent, and his former employer, Priority Sports & Entertainment (“Priority Sports”), clashed in…
Continue Reading NBA Sports Agent Slams Non-Compete and Trade Secret Claims and Scores 85K Jury Verdict Against Former Agency For Privacy Violation

By Joshua Salinas and Jessica Mendelson

The secret is out, Tic Tacs and bubblegum have the most valuable and desirable real estate in the entire grocery store.

On September 27, 2012, a district court for the Eastern District of New York granted in part and denied in part a motion to dismiss in a commercial dispute arising out of the…
Continue Reading New York Federal Court Rejects Heightened Specificity Pleading Standard for Breach of Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure Claim

By Joshua Salinas and Grace Chuchla

The fight over an employer’s attempt to enforce arbitration agreements in the face of wage and hour class action claims is a common one in the world of labor and employment law. In fact, this is the very question that a federal district court for the Eastern District of California recently considered in Steele, …
Continue Reading California Federal Court Finds Arbitration Agreement’s Exclusion of Injunctive Relief for Trade Secrets and Unfair Competition Claims Is Not Unconscionable

A high profile trade secret dispute among the board members of one of the fashion world’s most well-known companies has the American fashion elite taking sides. Last month, Christopher Burch filed a breach-of-contract and tortious interference complaint against his ex-wife, fashion mogul Tory Burch, in Delaware Chancery Court. In response, Tory filed counterclaims in early November, in which she accused…
Continue Reading Breach of Fiduciary Duty and Trade Secret Misappropriation Alleged In “Preppy Clothing Dispute” Involving Fashion Designer Tory Burch

By Marcus Mintz

Recognizing the trend across Illinois appellate courts in recent years, the Illinois Supreme Court joined the “vast majority of other jurisdictions” in recognizing the tort of intrusion upon seclusion – a claim against one who intentionally intrudes upon another’s privacy if such intrusion would be highly offensive to a reasonable person. In Lawlor v. North American Corporation …
Continue Reading Illinois Supreme Court Affirms Liability Against Former Employer For Unlawful Investigation Methods Used By Private Investigators In Non-Competition Investigation Into Activities By Ex-Sales Agent

The litigation between Kixeye and Zynga, two rivals in the mobile gaming market, has heated up over the past week.

Last month, we wrote about the alleged removal of dozens of files and emails by former Zynga app-maker, Alan Patmore. Last Thursday, apparently based upon information learned in discovery, Zynga upped the stakes, naming Kixeye in the First Amended Complaint…
Continue Reading Mobile Game Rivals Clash In California Trade Secret and Unfair Competition Suit