A recent case in Massachusetts confirms that taking affirmative steps to protect the confidentiality of trade secrets is absolutely critical to litigating a claim for misappropriation. In C.R.T.R. v. Lao, Plymouth Superior Court Docket No. 2011-962 (Dec. 30, 2013), the plaintiff sued a former independent contractor for, among other things, misappropriation of the company’s trade secrets. The defendant
Continue Reading Massachusetts Court Confirms That When It Comes To Trade Secrets, Confidentiality Is Key

A collaboration between Beacon Wireless Solutions and Garmin International, to integrate Beacon’s Global Positioning System fleet management vehicle tracking program into Garmin’s personal navigation devices, went awry. Allegedly without Beacon’s knowledge or consent, in order to boost Garmin’s sales, Garmin allegedly published to Beacon’s competitors Beacon’s confidential integration application specifications. Beacon sued, alleging trade secret misappropriation, breach of contract, and unjust enrichment. A few days ago

Continue Reading Another Federal Court Holds That A Compilation Of Non-Trade Secret Data Can Be A Trade Secret; Court Also Holds That An Unambiguous Written Contract With A Provision Precluding Unwritten Amendments Nonetheless Can Be Modified By Conduct

On March 29, 2012, the Seventh Circuit upheld summary judgment in favor of a defendant on plaintiff’s claims for trade secrets misappropriation and unjust enrichment, holding that plaintiff failed to take any measures, let alone reasonable measures, to protect its alleged trade secrets during joint marketing negotiations with defendant. Fail-Safe LLC v. A.O. Smith Corp., No. 11-1354 (7th Cir.

Continue Reading Seventh Circuit Rejects Pool Technology Company’s Trade Secrets Claim

In a recent, lengthy decision involving allegations of deceitful acts and unfair competition, the Utah Court of Appeals largely affirmed the lower court’s grant of summary judgment to the defendants with respect to a complaint alleging misappropriation of proprietary data and related conduct. Particularly noteworthy, the appellate court held that the Utah Uniform Trade Secrets Act (UTSA) preempts many common
Continue Reading Utah Appellate Court Holds That “Confidential” Price List Is Not A Trade Secret But A Contract Bid Could Be, And Uniform Trade Secrets Act Preempts Common Law Claims Based On Misusing Confidential Information Not A “Trade Secret”

By Robert Milligan and Jeffrey Oh

For the past three years, social media platform Facebook has pursued legal action against social media aggregator Power Ventures (“Power”) over what it has viewed as a blatant violation of state and federal law. Filed by Facebook in December 2008,  the suit alleges violations by Power of the CAN-SPAM Act in addition to the
Continue Reading California Federal Court Grants Summary Judgment For Facebook On Its CAN-SPAM Act, Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, And Penal Code Section 502 Claims Against Social Media Aggregator

By Justin Beyer

Thompson Reuters (Healthcare) Inc. sued three former executive employees, all formerly working for Thompson Reuters in its pharmacy benefits management and consulting division of its healthcare services arm, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin on Monday and immediately filed a motion for partial summary judgment against the former executives for a
Continue Reading Former Pharmacy Benefit Management Executives Sued For Alleged Violations Of Customer Non-Solicitation Agreements In Wisconsin Federal Court

In a 56-page opinion, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit sent a long-pending trade secrets case, Jasco Tools, Inc. v. Dana Corporation, Appeal No. 08-2762-bk, back to the lower court for further proceedings because of the bankruptcy court’s "flawed application of well established summary judgment principles."  (Slip Op. at 32.)  In the case, Jasco alleged that

Continue Reading Defects in Summary Judgment Procedure Send Jasco v. Dana Trade Secrets Case Back to Bankruptcy Court