Trade Secret / Noncompete

Protecting Competitive Business Interests Through Non-Compete Clauses

David S. Sanders — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 11:41:58 -0600

Ryan Bewersdorf and Nicolas Ellis recently authored an article that explores what business interests can legitimately be protected through non-compete clauses.

Controlling The Message - The First Step

Michael Gay — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 09:10:45 -0600

Whether its in politics, in advertising, or in a courtroom, persuasion is all about controlling the message. This is especially true in the classic non-compete case where the former employer is seeking to prevent a former employee from working for a competitor. The themes used by trial lawyers in...

Silguero v. Creteguard - California Employers Beware (Yet Again)!

John H. Douglas — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 14:26:21 -0600

For employers that are looking for yet another reason not to do business in California, Silguero v. Creteguard, a July 30, 2010 decision of the California Court of Appeal, serves as a stark reminder of the minefield California businesses face on a day-to-day basis. In Silguero, the plaintiff,...

Trade Secrets Protection

John Carson — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 12:52:14 -0600

Many companies do little to protect their trade secrets. They fail to ask themselves “what information would I not like to have in the hands of my competitors?” If a company does not protect its trade secrets, neither will a court. Companies should craft specific physical, information...

From Trade Secrets to Newsletters, What Do Confidentiality Agreements Really Cover?

Christi R. Adams — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 08:38:49 -0600

A recent case filed in federal district court highlights a common issue employers face when enforcing their confidentiality and non-compete agreements against former employees. In its complaint, the employer claims that the employee agreed to return company documents if he quit or was fired. What...

Is That A Pin Dropping? Limited Noise In The Months Following An Illinois Appellate Court's Rejection of the Legitimate Interest Test

Martin J. Bishop — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 08:57:00 -0600

Last Fall, the Illinois Fourth District Appellate Court ruled in Sunbelt Rentals, Inc. v. Ehlers, 915 N.E.2d 882 (Ill. App. Ct. 2009), that an employer does not need to establish a legitimate interest (e.g., a long-standing customer relationship or confidential information) to...

Sticky Fingers Prove Costly for Departing Employees

David M. Lucey — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 09:05:35 -0600

When four employees left a Connecticut investment advisory firm to start a competing business, they made the “mistake” of downloading client information from their old employer’s customer contact data base, transferring it to a home computer, and then sending it to a brokerage...

Format Failure

John F. Zabriskie — Tue, 25 May 2010 13:43:58 -0600

As Marshall McLuhan once observed famously, "the medium is the message." Of course, he was a media theorist, not a law professor, so it comes as no surprise that his aphorism is flat wrong when applied to trade secrets, as a recent opinion by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second...

Illinois Bill Offers a Renewed Attempt at Creating a "Covenant Not to Compete" Act

LexBlog — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 11:51:24 -0600

A bill has been introduced in the Illinois Legislature to create an "Illinois Covenants Not to Compete Act" (HB 4923, introduced January 15, 2010 by Rep. Rosemary Mulligan), following a previous failed effort on the same topic last year (HB 4040, introduced also by Rep. Mulligan)....

In the News: March 14 - April 1, 2010

LexBlog — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 22:01:27 -0600

Cases and issues making the headlines*: It's All Fun and Games Until... (April 1) A man attending the Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) in Boston was reportedly arrested for allegedly stealing the code for a new game that has not yet released. The code is reported to be valued at...

Forum Selection Clauses in Noncompete Agreements

David S. Sanders — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 05:52:30 -0600

Given the public policy arguments that courts so frequently use when analyzing noncompetes, as well as the perceived unequal bargaining power between employers and employees, it might be surprising to note that some courts are willing to enforce forum selection clauses that choose a forum other...

The Massachusetts Noncompete Debate... Continuing Coverage

LexBlog — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 23:22:34 -0600

In response to the significant and growing interest in the Massachusetts noncompete reform bill, this post will aggregate links to articles and information about the bill. It will be updated regularly, so please check back. Massachusetts Noncompete Bill is Reported Out of Committee ...

Why We Care

LexBlog — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 05:32:56 -0600

Blogs like this (ones that are so focused on a specific area of law) may cause readers to wonder why the authors spend so much time writing about so many different aspects of the topic. For the TSN blog, the reason is that we care. (Nice, huh?) Okay, but why do...

Massachusetts Noncompete Bill is Reported Out of Committee

LexBlog — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 03:36:55 -0600

It is official: The Massachusetts noncompete bill (of which I am the principal draftsperson) has been reported out of committee. A copy is available here or by clicking on the picture to the right. Upon a quick read, it appears that garden leave clauses have been removed. ...

Protecting Key Business Relationships

Jeffrey S. Kopp — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 06:51:36 -0600

Unless a business manufactures or sells truly unique items, chances are it will have competitors seeking to secure the same business opportunities. Competitors often use all tools at their disposal to secure that business, including targeting and offering employment to key employees of...

Illinois Appellate Court: Violation of Contractual Post-Employment Non-Compete Does Not Extend Duration of the Restrictive Covenant

Michael M. Conway — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 14:16:24 -0600

An employer's successful lawsuit to enjoin two former highly-skilled employees from operating a competing financial services company resulted in only a one-month-long preliminary injunction -- despite proof of the employees' violation of the agreement -- because the contract did not allow an...

Some Lessons from a Million Buck Case

John (Jack) S. Lord, Jr. — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 07:31:35 -0600

Almost $1 Million in damages awarded by a trial court in Tennessee in favor of an employer against a single former employee was recently upheld by a state court of appeals. The Hamilton-Ryker Group, LLC v. Keymon, No. W2008-00936-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. Appl. Jan. 28, 2010). Besides the...

Georgia Moves a Step Closer to Noncompete Reform

Michael C. Lueder — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 14:49:50 -0600

It may soon be a lot easier to enforce noncompete/nonsolicitation agreements in Georgia. Late last week the Georgia House Judiciary Committee passed a resolution to amend the Georgia Constitution to allow the General Assembly to pass laws governing competitive activities...

In the News: January 3 - 25, 2010

LexBlog — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 08:31:43 -0600

Cases and issues making the headlines*: More Noncompetes and Celebrities (January 25) CBS’s radio morning personality in DC, Donnie Simpson, is reportedly leaving CBS. According to the story in the Washington Post (here), Simpson will be prevented from joining a competitive station for 13...

Licensing Digital Forensic Examiners

Scott R. Kaspar — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 18:41:15 -0600

By Jeffrey S. Kopp and Scott R. Kaspar In non-compete cases, often the most powerful evidence that will convince a judge to enter an injunction is computer records and files showing that an employee or former employee has illegally downloaded confidential or trade secret information on his or her...