Social distancing, a term which few of us had heard of before this year (despite the fact that it has been used since at least the early 2000s), is stretching into its third month. Notwithstanding some loosening of shelter-in-place advisories, and the fact that some employers are starting to open up offices and invite their workforce back in, a majority of employees are still working from home. This has broad implications for protection of employers’ trade secrets and confidential information—in many cases, a company’s most precious asset.
Continue Reading Security From Afar: How Best to Protect Trade Secrets in a World of Remote Working, Zoombombing, and Uncertainty
The Sedona Conference Seeks Public Comment on the Identification of Asserted Trade Secrets in Misappropriation Cases
The Sedona Conference’s working group on trade secrets has created a draft Commentary on the Proper Identification of Asserted Trade Secrets in Misappropriation Cases.
The draft Commentary explains:
The burden is on the party asserting trade secret misappropriation to answer this question by “identifying” the alleged trade secrets. While this requirement for “identification” is ubiquitous, the rules for doing
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Normalizing the Abnormal—Protecting Trade Secrets in a Post-COVID-19 World
On April 16, 2020, the White House issued its “Guidelines for Opening Up America Again,” and several states have begun a slow process of emerging from the shutdown. But even the most optimistic scenarios are fraught with uncertainty. Nobody can predict when the economy will fully reopen, or what that even means in the post-COVID-19 business world. Will increased remote work become the “new normal”? Will business meetings, pitches, and conferences, continue to take place by videoconference or other remote means? What about investigations, depositions, mediations, and court proceedings? And how long will all of that last? We also do not know when the next pandemic will strike, or even if COVID-19 will rear its ugly head again in the near future.
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CBD Cream Manufacturer Responds to Motion to Dismiss in Trade Secret Litigation
As we previously reported, on February 18, 2020, Medterra CBD (“Medterra”) filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit alleging that it had misappropriated Healthcare Resources Management Group LLC’s (“Healthcare Resources”) proprietary formula for a CBD cream aimed at treating pain. In its motion, Medterra argued that Healthcare Resources failed to allege that it had provided or that Medterra had otherwise acquired any proprietary information. Additionally, Medterra claims that even if Healthcare Resources could establish that it had provided its propriety CBD cream formula to Medterra, Healthcare Resources did not take adequate steps to protect its trade secret by mandating Medterra sign a non-disclosure agreement.
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Peloton Surges to the Top of the Leaderboard in Competitor Spat
In 2012, Peloton rode into the home fitness scene with its now ubiquitous at-home exercise bike, which features a tablet that allows riders to stream both live and pre-recorded classes while competing against other riders on a virtual leaderboard. Peloton built the bike, including the associated technology and software, from scratch, and applied for and obtained a number of patents between 2015 and 2019 to protect its sizable investment of both time and money.
In 2017, Flywheel, a boutique exercise studio, pedaled into the home fitness scene as well with the FLY Anywhere bike. Like Peloton users, FLY Anywhere riders stream both live and pre-recorded classes while pedaling their way up the leaderboard.
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Pardon Me, Co-Packaging Partner Accused of Stealing Dijon Mustard Recipes
On February 25, 2020, Plaintiff Mustard Girl LLC (“Mustard Girl”), an award-winning mustard manufacturer, filed a lawsuit in the Circuit Court of Cook County for damages against its former co-packing partner, Olds Products Co. of Illinois, LLC (“Olds”), for misappropriation of trade secrets and other derivative claims. According to Mustard Girl, Olds engaged in a multi-year scheme to steal Mustard Girl’s recipes and then use those recipes to sell its own mustard products at lower cost to Mustard Girl’s largest accounts.
This mustard dispute presents a common trade secrets misappropriation scenario—the alleged misappropriator had lawful access to the trade secrets but then misused its access for an improper purpose. An additional wrinkle in this case is that Mustard Girl provided the mustard recipes to Olds under a confidentiality agreement, but admittedly lacks a counter-signed copy. Proving that reasonable measures were taken to keep trade secrets protected is necessary to prevail on a claim for misappropriation. If Mustard Girl is unable to prove that the recipes were provided to Olds under a confidentiality agreement, it may face a significant hurdle in proving that its recipes are, in fact, trade secrets.
Continue Reading Pardon Me, Co-Packaging Partner Accused of Stealing Dijon Mustard Recipes
Trade Secret Law in Russia
As a special feature of our blog—guest postings by experts, clients, and other professionals—please enjoy this blog entry from Donal O’Connell, Managing Director of Chawton Innovation Services Ltd.
One of the key pieces of legislation related to trade secrets in Russia is the Federal Law of July 29, 2004 on Commercial Secrecy. This was passed by the State Duma on July 9, 2004, and endorsed by the Federation Council on July 15, 2004.
This piece of legislation consists of the following articles or sections …
- Goals and scope of this federal law
- Laws of the Russian Federation on commercial secrecy
- Basic notions used in this federal law (including the definition of a trade secret as well as some details on the handling of trade secrets in agreements)
- Right to classify information as information constituting a commercial secret and methods of obtaining that information
- Data that may not constitute a commercial secret (i.e. what information may not be considered as a trade secret)
- Supply of information constituting a commercial secret (i.e. under what circumstances may a trade secret owner have to divulge the information)
- Protection of the confidentiality of information
- Protection of the confidentiality of information within the framework of employee or labour relations
- Protection of the confidentiality of information as it is passed over to for example state authorities
- Responsibility for violation of this Federal law (i.e. the various penalties for misappropriation)
- Responsibility for non-provision of information constituting a commercial secret to the state power bodies, other state authorities, bodies of local self-government
Definition of a Trade Secret
A Little Knowledge Is a Dangerous Thing: Beware the Statute of Limitations in Trade Secrets Misappropriation Cases
Seyfarth Synopsis: Knowledge that a competitor or former employee is misappropriating trade secrets is difficult to come by. At the same time, however, once a company has notice that misappropriation may be occurring, the statute of limitations begins to run on any trade secrets misappropriation claim. A recent decision from the California Court of Appeals reinforces these rules and provides a good reminder of the need to take proactive steps to protect any possible claims.
When a competitor or former employee misappropriates a company’s trade secrets, the company often does not know for an extended period of time. This is especially true when the perpetrator takes action to conceal its misappropriation. For these reasons, the statute of limitations only starts to run once the company knows or should have known of the misappropriation. But this rule is not a universal remedy; companies should be aware that once they have sufficient knowledge that misappropriation may be occurring, they must take action or risk the running of the statute of limitations. A recent decision from the California Court of Appeals reinforces these principles.
Continue Reading A Little Knowledge Is a Dangerous Thing: Beware the Statute of Limitations in Trade Secrets Misappropriation Cases
Please Join Us! An Update on Trade Secret and Restrictive Covenant Law
What You Need to Know about Protecting Company Assets in the Age of Employee Mobility and Digital Theft
Thursday, November 14, 2019
8:00 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. Central Time: Breakfast & Registration
8:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. Central Time: Program
Seyfarth Shaw LLP
233 South Wacker Drive, Suite 8000
Chicago, IL 60606
There is no cost to attend but registration
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Webinar Recap! The Defend Trade Secrets Act: 3 Years Later
In Seyfarth’s third installment in its 2019 Trade Secrets Webinar Series, Seyfarth attorneys Katherine Perrelli, Justin K. Beyer, and Amy Abeloff focused on the key provisions of the Defend Trade Secrets Act, how the DTSA has evolved since it was passed three years ago, and what to expect in the future.
As a conclusion to this well-received webinar, we compiled
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