inevitable disclosure

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shutterstock_147490814An Illinois appellate court recently rejected applying the inevitable disclosure doctrine in a trade secret misappropriation spat arising out of a failed business transaction.

After first securing an executed confidentiality agreement, Destiny, the developer of a proprietary healthcare wellness program called “Vitality,” shared details of it with Cigna, a healthcare insurer.  The insurer decided instead to create a wellness product…
Continue Reading Inevitable Disclosure Doctrine Held Inapplicable To Failed Business Transaction

An employee entered into non-compete and confidentiality agreements with his employer.  Following his resignation from that company, he went to work for a competitor.  His job functions and territory with both employers were similar.  In a suit for violation of the non-compete and confidentiality agreements, a Texas federal court held recently that — absent an injunction — disclosure to his …
Continue Reading Preliminary Injunction Entered After Texas Federal Court Concludes That Ex-Employee “Inevitably” Will Disclose His Former Employer’s Trade Secrets

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia recently denied a motion to dismiss a counterclaim for violation of Virginia’s Uniform Trade Secrets Act (“VUTSA”), holding that the counterclaim sufficiently alleged trade secret misappropriation based on improper acquisition of a trade secret, even in the absence of allegations of use or disclosure.

Factual allegations:

Plaintiff Jacqueline…
Continue Reading Federal Court Rules Trade Secret Misappropriation Sufficiently Alleged Based on Improper Acquisition, Even in Absence of Use or Disclosure

By Erik Weibust and Ryan Malloy

In an action for misappropriation of trade secrets, unfair competition, and other claims, Judge Hillman of the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts recently granted a former employer’s motion for a preliminary injunction against three defendants who allegedly stole trade secrets from the plaintiff, without a showing that the defendants actually used that information for …
Continue Reading Massachusetts Federal Court Grants Preliminary Injunction Absent Showing of Actual Use of a Trade Secret and Potentially Expands the “Inevitable Disclosure” Doctrine

A recent Illinois trade secrets and non-compete decision involving a 3D printing salesman serves as a reminder that some Illinois courts will scrutinze overly broad non-compete provisions and may limit injunctive relief to the territory that the employee actually serviced for their former employer. Fisher/Unitech, Inc. v. Computer Aided Technology, Inc., Case No. 13 C 2090 (N.D.Ill., 4/9/13).

Preliminary …
Continue Reading Illinois Federal Court Issues Preliminary Injunction Prohibiting Use Of Misappropriated Trade Secrets But Rejects Request For Expanded Injunction Based On Alleged “Inevitable Disclosure”

On June 19, 2012, a Massachusetts federal court declined to apply an expansive interpretation of the inevitable disclosure doctrine during a preliminary injunction ruling, finding that the rule is best applied to establish irreparable injury supporting enforcement of a non-competition agreement and not as the basis for a future misappropriation of trade secrets claim.

In U.S. Elec. Svcs., Inc. v. Schmidt…

Continue Reading Massachusetts Federal Court Rejects Expansive View of Inevitable Disclosure Doctrine and Denies Preliminary Injunction

In Moore v. Commercial Aircraft Interiors, 2012 WL 1947890 (Wash. Ct. App., May 29, 2012), a Washington Appeals Court held that a former employee suing his former employer for tortious interference with business expectancy must show actual evidence and not simply conclusory statements of his alleged former employer’s improper purpose, in order to recover.  

Robert Moore (“Moore”) worked for…

Continue Reading Washington Appellate Court Finds That Employer’s Threatening Letter, Relying In Part On Inevitable Disclosure Doctrine, to Former Employee’s Prospective Employer Is Not Actionable

Throughout 2010, Seyfarth Shaw LLP’s dedicated Trade Secrets, Computer Fraud & Non-Competes practice group hosted a series of webinars that addressed key issues facing clients today in this important and ever changing area of law. The series consisted of five webinars: The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act: What You Need to Know, Protecting the Secrets in Your Employees’ Heads, …

Continue Reading 2010 Trade Secrets Webinar Series – Year In Review

             On July 27, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed a district court’s order enjoining a senior executive from Bimbo Bakeries USA, Inc., from working for one of Bimbo’s competitors, Hostess, until after the district court resolved the merits of Bimbo’s misappropriation of trade secrets claim against the executive. Among other trade secrets at issue in…

Continue Reading Bimbo Bakeries v. Botticella: Man vs. Muffin, Muffin Wins Injunction

When explaining to lay people what we do, trade secret practitioners often use the classic examples of the formula for Coca-Cola or KFC’s secret recipe of eleven herbs and spices. Now, we can add as an illustration the nooks and crannies of Thomas’ English Muffins, as demonstrated by a case filed by Bimbo Bakeries (“BBakeries”) in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. BBakeries…

Continue Reading Inevitable Disclosure of Nooks and Crannies