As we discussed on the blog not too long ago, a significant new bill was recently introduced in Congress seeking to add a federal civil cause of action for trade secret theft. In a bipartisan effort, Senators Christopher Coons (D-Del) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), both members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, introduced the bill in
Scott Schaefers Discussing Employee Social Media Privacy – How Employers Can Strike the Necessary Balance
On April 16th, Scott Schaefers spoke with LexBlog’s Colin O’Keefe in a live online interview about what employers need to know about the social networking privacy legislation passed by thirteen states in the last two years. Scott discussed Seyfarth’s soon-to-be-published survey of that legislation, as well as some ideas of what employers can do to
United States Announces Multifaceted Plan To Combat Trade Secret Theft At Home And Abroad
By Jessica Mendelson and Robert Milligan
On Wednesday February 20, 2013, the White House released a five-point plan (“the Plan”) intended to combat trade secret theft of American trade secrets.
The plan is a collaboration between various federal agencies, including the Departments of Commerce, Defense, Homeland Security, Justice, State, Treasury, the Office of the Director
Is Massachusetts Next to Adopt the Uniform Trade Secrets Act?
Will Massachusetts join 46 states, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands in adopting the Uniform Trade Secrets Act (the “UTSA”)?
In January 2013, the Massachusetts Legislature proposed House Bill No. 27: An Act Making Uniform the Law Regarding Trade Secrets. The bill seeks to repeal Sections 42 and 42A of
Big Brother Can’t Ask For Access To Your “Personal” Social Media Accounts Either….More Social Media Legislation Proposed In California
By Robert Milligan and Jessica Mendelson
Recently, we blogged about the passage of California Assembly Bill 1844 (“AB 1844”), which regulates employers’ ability to demand access to employees’ or prospective hires’ personal social media accounts. Assembly Bill 1844 was codified as section 980 of the California Labor Code. Recently, California State Assemblywoman Nora Campos has
Illinois Becomes Second State In Nation To Bar Employers From Obtaining Access To Employee Social Networking Pages
On August 1, 2012, Illinois became the second state in the nation to adopt a law prohibiting employers from seeking employee or prospective employee passwords to access their non-public portions of their social networking sites.
The Illinois’ law, an amendment to the Right to Privacy in the Workplace Act that will become
New Federal Trade Secrets Legislation Proposed
By Jessica Mendelson and Robert Milligan
On July 17, 2012, Democratic senators Herb Kohl (Wisconsin), Sheldon Whitehouse (Rhode Island), and Chris Coons (Delaware) introduced legislation which they believe will aid American companies in effectively combating the theft of trade secrets. The proposed legislation, known as the Protecting American Trade Secrets and Innovation Act of 2012
At Long Last, New Jersey Passes Trade Secrets Act
Legislation intended to help protect the trade secrets of New Jersey businesses has been signed into law by Gov. Christie. The New Jersey Trade Secrets Act (S-2456/A-921) establishes by law specific remedies available to businesses in the event that a trade secret – such as a formula, design, a prototype or invention – is misappropriated.
At Long Last, New Jersey Is Poised To Pass The “New Jersey Trade Secrets Act”
By David Monachino
New Jersey is one of the four remaining states that have not adopted some or all of the provisions of the Uniform Trade Secrets Act (Massachusetts, New York and Texas are the others), but instead NJ courts have relied wide range of common law decisions in order to establish a trade secret
Georgia Court Blue Pencils / Rewrites Overbroad Restrictive Covenant
By Bob Stevensand Daniel Hart
As we have discussed on this blog before, on May 11, 2011, Georgia reissued its new Restrictive Covenant Act (the “New Act”). The New Act reflected a fundamental change in Georgia’s law regarding restrictive covenants because it permitted Georgia courts to “blue pencil” (i.e., partially enforce) restrictive covenants that