The United States District Court for the District of New Jersey recently issued a decision (Syncsort Incorporated v. Innovative Routines, International, Inc.) providing one more piece in the puzzl...
This year, we have seen several dramatic changes to noncompete laws around the country. The following are some of the highlights: California: Â Many people thought noncompetes were DOA with the Cal...
As those of you following the Massachusetts noncompete bill will recall, a modified version of the bill was refiled in January. (See Massachusetts Noncompete Bill Refiled.) Although the refiled bil...
The BRR 50 State Noncompete Chart has been updated today (June 26, 2011) to reflect an update to Colorado and Texas laws. Both changes reflect significant developments in the respective state's...
The central component of Texas noncompete law that separated it from the pack is that the consideration needed to support a noncompete had to be related to the legitimate business interest sought to b...
While everyone else gets their information by googling it, how does Google get its information? Well, according to Pay Pal, it steals it. Just two days ago (Friday, May 27, 2011 - for those reading...
Big happenings in France (well... in the world of noncompetes, anyway). In France, noncompetes arising our of an employment relationship are similar to those in other European countries that enfor...
After months of confusion, it is now official: Georgia has a new - and valid - noncompete law. The law will apply only to noncompete agreements entered into on or after May 11, 2011, and will permit G...
Recognizing the need to crack down on misappropriation of trade secrets, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has stepped up its enforcement of the Economic Espionage Act, among other statutes. See the DO...
Hairdressers have been held out as a prime example why noncompete reform is required in Massachusetts. Whenever the hairdressers are rolled out, however, those opposed to reform contend that courts â€...
Today's headlines provided an interesting twist on the intersection between trade secret law and sunshine (or "freedom of information") laws. See UConn Fights to Keep Donor List Secret. Typically,...
As we all know, trade secret litigation has been steadily on the rise for the past decade. (See The Who, What, Where, When, How, and Why of Trade Secret Audits and, in the related area of noncompete...
For those of you interested in seeing a copy of the Massachusetts noncompete bill as it was filed, click here or on the image to the right. Remember that the goal of the Representatives sponsoring...
I don't think I've ever before provided just a link to another story, but, under the circumstances, just click here to see how squirrelly things have gotten in the world of noncompetes.  Enjoy!...
Hank Mullany, former president of Walmart's northern U.S. division, reportedly left Walmart to head up CVS's retail pharmacy. In response, Walmart sued Mullany (Wal-Mart Stores Inc. v. Mullany, CA No...
This week’s disclosures by Wikileaks of hundreds of thousands of classified, secret documents is a stark reminder of the admonitions that we trade secrets lawyers have been saying for years: It is...
Well, there continues to be a lot of discussion about Georgia's new noncompete law. The most recent discussion at this point is not about the substance, however. Rather, it's about whether the law is...
In October 2009, Computerworld published an article of mine entitled, "No-poach agreements: A new generation of restriction." The article discussed a no-poach agreement used by several large high tech...
Well, I guess it's not such a bad thing that my last post was about the HP/Oracle/Hurd dispute, as there's more to report. It's settled. No surprise there; most of these cases do settle - and settl...
You may recall that in February, a senior executive from Bimbo Bakeries USA, Inc. ("Bimbo") - maker of, among other things, Thomas' English Muffins - went to work for a competitor. The executive, Chri...
eBay has reportedly been sued by EPRT Ventures for $3.8 million. The claim appears to be not only that eBay supposedly infringes on certain patents, but that eBay misappropriated trade secrets disclos...
Lawsuits over trade secrets typically involve things like customer lists, formulas, manufacturing processes, etc. Can the location of houses for use as movie sets be a trade secret? Yep. Well, at leas...
Back in January, I wrote about Bimbo Bakeries USA Inc. having sued a former executive who left for competitor Hostess Brands Inc. (The story appears on the Trade Secret / Noncompete Blog, which I had...