Posts in Trade Secrets
How Mediation Can Help Both Sides Win a Trade Secret Case
In over 40 years of handling trade secret disputes, I have seen plenty of “successful” results, but never a time when my client said, “Gee that was fun; …
Reverse Engineering and the Law: Understand the Restrictions to Minimize Risks
Fundamental to building and executing any successful patent licensing program is the ability to find and prove evidence of infringement, often through reverse engineering methods. A product …
Ex Parte Seizures Five Years After the Enactment of the Defend Trade Secrets Act
Almost five years has passed since the enactment of the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) on May 11, 2016, which provides for civil relief for the theft of trade …
Parties’ Names Should Generally be Disclosed to the Public, Says CAFC
On March 12, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) affirmed the Middle District of Florida’s decision directing the clerk to unseal the …
How to Safeguard AI Technology: Patents versus Trade Secrets
A common refrain is that an invention is only as valuable as the patent that protects it. But what happens when you cannot secure the patent? This …
Trade Secrets and the Insider Threat: Protection Beyond the Perimeter
The managers of most companies tend to see information security as a Lord of the Rings problem, with the focus on protecting the perimeter. This reflects the …
Joint EPO-EUIPO Report Finds SMEs Stand to Benefit Most from IP Ownership
The latest in a series of reports by the European Patent Office (EPO) and European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) studying IP-intensive industries and their contribution to …
Ninth Circuit Gives Guidance on Specification of Trade Secrets Under the Defend Trade Secrets Act
Two of the most important issues in trade secret cases involve the timing of when the plaintiff is required to identify its alleged trade secrets and the …
Pardon Me? Levandowski Case Highlights Need for Proactive Approach to Avoid Trade Secret Problems in Hiring
My head was turned by the recent news of President Trump’s final-day pardon of Anthony Levandowski, the former head of Google’s self-driving car unit who …
Department of Justice’s ‘China Initiative’: Two Year Recap
One of the key trade secret trends in 2020 that was not mentioned by James Pooley in his excellent recap of the year’s trends was the continued …
Take Heed: Lessons from the Top Trade Secret Cases of 2020
One of the uniquely fascinating aspects of trade secret disputes is that they are laced with unbridled emotions, accusations of treachery, and actors who angrily disagree over …
ITC Issues Limited Exclusion Order on Botox Products, Partially Reverses Trade Secret Finding
In September, the International Trade Commission (ITC) decided to review an initial final determination (FID) in the Matter of “Certain Botulinum Toxin Products, Processes for Manufacturing or …
Supreme Court Ponders Proper Application of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act
In Van Buren v. United States, argued December 1, the Supreme Court has a chance to address how the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act applies when a defendant …
When it Pays to Talk About Your Secrets
The conversation begins, “Can you keep a secret?” “Yes, of course,” they say. What happens next? Naturally, you tell them what it is that you are going …
It’s 10:00 PM: Do You Know Where Your Secrets Are?
In the wake of urban unrest in the early 1960s, local governments imposed nightly youth curfews, and a Massachusetts legislator suggested that all radio and television stations …