Episode 19 of Fairly Competing is out! Join us for the key developments in trade secret and restrictive covenant law from the past year.
As we ponder the best ways to protect trade secrets today, it’s good to have a quick reminder that this has been a long-term issue. So, we’ll take a two-part tour of trade secret law and developments from before Roman times to now.
A decision from last week, juxtaposed against two other recent decisions, highlights that the law of no-recruit agreements is, like the law of noncompetes, “a sea — vast and vacillating, overlapping and bewildering. One can fish out of it any kind of strange support for anything, if he lives so long.”
Our 50-state (plus DC) chart of noncompete laws has been updated and is available here.
The FTC and DOJ contend that no-poach/no-hire covenants in (old) McDonald’s franchise agreements constitute an antitrust violation.
We are pleased to announce that we were selected for inclusion in the top 10 trade secret blogs.
There is a fifth decision involving a noncompete under the Massachusetts Noncompetition Agreement Act, G.L. c. 149, § 24L - and it provides some helpful guidance.
Episode 18 of Fairly Competing is out! In this episode, we talk with AIPLA President, Brian Batzili, immediate past-President, Patrick Coyne, and Executive Director, Vince Garlock, about their experience with the AIPLA, the Trade Secret Law Committee, and trade secret law more generally.
Keeping track of the flood of noncompete and trade secret law changes across the country is no easy task. Here are some resources to make it easier.
Eleven states plus Washington, D.C. have wage thresholds or other criteria that must be satisfied before a noncompete can be used. They are changing again. Will your noncompetes be compliant?
Episode 17 of Fairly Competing is out! In this episode, we discuss what employers can and cannot do when they suspect trade secret misappropriation by a departing employee.
Eleven states plus Washington, D.C. now have wage thresholds or other criteria that must be satisfied before a noncompete can be used. Are your noncompetes compliant?
Washington, D.C.’s new noncompete law will take effect on October 1, 2022. See what you need to know.
A new federal bill to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act to ban noncompetes — both retroactively and prospectively — for nonexempt workers.
Whether something is a trade secret, confidential information, or general skill and knowledge may dictate whether and how it can be protected. There is significant disagreement about where the lines are drawn and the consequences of the categorization. Yet these issues can have serious implications for companies and employees alike.
Knowing the noncompete and trade secret laws across 50 states, plus D.C., is no easy task. And keeping track of the flood of changes in recent years makes it all the more difficult. Unfortunately, it’s not something you can ignore. Because of this, we have created several resources that make the task easier. We hope you find them helpful.
Given that good CLE programs can be hard to identify, I put together a list of a few upcoming, content-rich programs that I and leading practitioners, in-house counsel, experts, and others from around the country are participating in.
Our 50-state (plus DC) chart of noncompete laws has been updated and is available here.
While most people reading this blog will know that California has a statute that bans noncompetes, it may come as a surprise that employers have dealt with that prohibition by turning to trade secret law for protection as far back as 1913 — even for low-level employees.
D.C.’s upcoming noncompete law says that it will apply as of October 1, 2022. But it is not scheduled to become “effective” until November 10, 2022. Where does that leave us?
Although five noncompete bills were pending before the Massachusetts legislature this year, none has passed.
The Key to Seeking and Defending Against Temporary Restraining Orders (Fairly Competing, Episode 16)
Episode 16 of Fairly Competing is out! In this episode, we discuss what you need to know when you are either seeking or defending against a temporary restraining order in a trade secret or noncompete case.
Just as the D.C. Council was poised to walk back its 2021 unfunded noncompete ban and permit noncompetes for most people earning over $150,000, the D.C. Council amended the amendment to exempt broadcast industry employees, regardless of how much they earn. The final amendment is now with the Mayor.
Our 50-state (plus DC) chart of noncompete laws has been updated for recent developments in Hawai‘i. It is available here.