A decision from the Northern District of Illinois is the latest to reiterate a stern warning we have long highlighted for employers: when insufficient steps are taken by an employer to protect its own proprietary information, courts will not provide trade secret protection when such information is misappropriated. In Abrasic 90 Inc. v. Weldcote Metals, … Continue Reading
Our Workplace Privacy, E-Communication and Data Security Practice Group recently posted this article regarding the United States Supreme Court’s denial of certiorari in Nosal v. Unites States, 16-1344. This Blog previously posted articles about the Nosal case, which can be found here and here. In the Nosal case, the individual defendant was criminally prosecuted under the Computer … Continue Reading
Misappropriation of trade secrets claims can sometimes be difficult to sustain. While evidence of the taking of a trade secret may be available, evidence of its subsequent use may not. In Integrated Global Services, Inc. v. Michael Mayo, Case No. 3:17cv563, by decision issued on September 13, 2017, the federal court for the Eastern District of … Continue Reading
In 2016 Congress passed the Defend Trade Secrets Act, creating a federal cause of action for the theft of trade secrets. For a plaintiff attempting to prove that the information at issue is a trade secret, there is a tendency to focus only on the information itself, rather than the manner in which the plaintiff … Continue Reading
A May 11, 2017 decision by Judge Chang, in the Northern District of Illinois, found misappropriation alleged under the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) and the Illinois Trade Secrets Act (ITSA), in a case where the employee downloaded files while still employed. Denying the Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss a Third Amended Complaint, the Court examined … Continue Reading
Although most employers are very familiar with the usual discovery process of litigation, they may not be as familiar with the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure’s Rule 202, which concerns pre-suit depositions. Rule 202 can be used, for example, by an employer who wants to learn more about a former employee’s activities before commencing a … Continue Reading
Defying claims that bi-partisanship in Congress is dead, the United States Senate has passed the Defend Trade Secrets Act by a vote of 87-0. The measure, approved by the upper chamber on April 4, goes to the House of Representatives, which is considering a very similar bill with sponsorship from both sides of the aisle. … Continue Reading
Cliff Atlas, a principal with Jackson Lewis, will be participating in a webinar on January 20, 2016 on the topic of “Insider Threat: Employee Mobility and Trade Secrets” on the IP Chat Channel sponsored by the Intellectual Property Owners Association. www.ipo.org/IPChatChannel. The webinar is open to all. The registration fee is $130, with academic and government discounts available. … Continue Reading
Texas has joined 47 other states and the District of Columbia in adopting the Uniform Trade Secrets Act. Jackson Lewis has posted an article on its website describing the new law which will go into effect on September 1, 2014. Now, only Massachusetts and New York have yet to pass some form of the Uniform … Continue Reading
A federal court in the Northern District of Mississippi has allowed a plaintiff in an employment law dispute to conduct an on-site inspection for purposes of videotaping the machine which he formerly operated in Morton v. Cooper Tire & Rubber Co., (N.D. Miss. Dec. 10, 2012). Morton, an amputee with a prosthetic leg, asserted that he was denied a reasonable … Continue Reading
