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

By Joshua Salinas and Jessica Mendelson

Think that patents, trademarks, and copyrights are the only intellectual property where reasonable royalties are available? Think again! On September 27, 2012, a district court for the Northern District of Oklahoma found “exceptional circumstances” existed to award a royalty injunction for the misappropriation of trade secrets.  Skycam, LLC v. Bennett, No. 09-CV-294-GKF-FHM,
Continue Reading Royalties Awarded for Theft of Skycam Trade Secrets

By Robert Milligan and Jessica Mendelson

With the NBA basketball season almost upon us, a high profile legal battle between an aspiring NBA sports agent and his former agency continues to heat up in Los Angeles federal court. The case involves some interesting non-compete, trade secret, and privacy issues.

In April 2012, we first alerted you to the colorful case
Continue Reading Sports Agent Non-Compete and Trade Secrets Dispute Heats Up in California

Please join Seyfarth Shaw on October 25, 2012 in Costa Mesa, California and on November 1, 2012 at our downtown office in Los Angeles, California for an informative breakfast briefing on best practices when dealing with newly hired or departing employees and the incumbent trade secret and information protection issues.

In today’s highly mobile and competitive world, employees frequently move
Continue Reading Complimentary Breakfast Briefing Offered In Orange County and Los Angeles On Trade Secret Protection Best Practices In the Hiring and Departure of Employees

By James Yu

Apparently it’s not just the sweet, delicious taste of Magnolia Bakery cupcakes that had people lining up in droves for a box or three since it opened its first store in Greenwich Village, New York over 15 years ago.

According to a Complaint filed on September 20, 2012 by Magnolia, entitled Magnolia Intellectual Property, LLC v. Buba
Continue Reading The Trade Secret Is In the Swirl Cupcake: Bakery Sues To Protect Its Signature Icing Topping

By Joshua Salinas and Jessica Mendelson

A federal district court for the Northern District of California recently held in a “competitor click fraud” case that a mere assertion of a violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act claim without sufficient factual details regarding any inside or outside “hacking” is insufficient to establish subject matter jurisdiction over the action. (
Continue Reading “Click Fraud” Allegations Found Insufficient Under Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, But Personal Jurisdiction Found Where Defendant Company’s Website Deliberately Targeted Consumers Within the Forum State

On September 14, 2012, the State Bar of California Intellectual Property Section presented its 2012 IP and the Internet Conference. The conference featured high level experts from companies such as Twitter, Yahoo!, Warner Bros. Entertainment, Salseforce.com, True Religion Brand Jeans, and Autodesk, who covered emerging issues and hot topics in intellectual property and Internet law. Below are a few highlights
Continue Reading Summary of the 2012 IP and the Internet Conference Presented by the State Bar of California

In a legal matchup involving some Hollywood heavyweights, Thomas Randolph filed suit in Los Angeles Superior Court recently, alleging he was defrauded out of his stake in a prominent 3-D movie technology venture.

Randolph sued William Sherak, the son of Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences President Tom Sherak and a prior chairman of 20th Century Fox’s domestic film
Continue Reading Alleged Breach of Non-Disclosure Agreement Related To 3-D Technology At Issue In New California Suit Involving Hollywood Heavyweights

On August 9, 2012, a district court for the Western District of Michigan dismissed counterclaims of tortious interference with a business expectancy and conversion brought after the removal of a company’s Facebook page and the alleged loss of its more than 19,000 “fans.” (Lown Companies LLC v. Piggy Paint LLC, No. 11-cv–911 (W.D. Mich., Aug. 9, 2012)) .
Continue Reading Facebook Fans For Piggy Paint Not A Business Expectancy, Michigan Federal Court Dismisses Tortious Interference Claims for Facebook Page Takedown

By Erik Weibust and Ryan Malloy

In Troy Industries, Inc. v. Samson Manufacturing Corporation and Scott A. Samson, 81 Mass. App. Ct. 1122 (March 21, 2012), the Massachusetts Appeals Court recently affirmed a jury verdict in the Superior Court that awarded damages to the plaintiff, Troy Industries, Inc., based on the defendants’ violation of a confidentiality agreement and the

Continue Reading Massachusetts Appeals Court Affirms Judgment in Breach of Confidentiality Agreement and Unfair Business Practices Action Involving Weapon Designer