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!...
We spend lots of time on this blog discussing trade secret protection. To give some context, I thought it might be helpful to have a few statistics: Trade secret and related noncompete cases have m...
The BRR 50 State Noncompete Chart has been updated today (December 7, 2010) to reflect a clarification of Wisconsin’s rule on dealing with overly broad noncompete agreements. Click here to get the l...
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...
For those interested in the status of and plans for the Massachusetts noncompete bill or Massachusetts noncompete law more generally, there are two up-coming discussions you may wish to attend. The...
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...
The 50 state survey of noncompete laws has been updated, primarily to reflect the change in Georgia law. It is available for download here. Please note that the chart will be periodically updated...
Well, the waiting is over. Georgia voters voted to change their constitution to permit noncompetes to be more enforceable. Georgia had been long known as one of the harder states in which to enforc...
When an employee is bound by a noncompetition agreement, it is rare for the noncompete to be the exclusive restriction on the employee's post-employment conduct. Rather, noncompetition agreements are...
The utility of a 50 state survey on noncompetes has come up at various points. So, I finally took it upon myself to create one and make it publicly available. The chart is a summary of employee noncom...
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...
Rule 5.6 of the Rules of Professional Conduct (the rule prohibiting lawyers from being bound by noncompetes) and its analogue in the Canons of Ethics (DR 2-108(A)) have a noble purpose: the protecti...
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...
Although the Massachusetts noncompete bill had made substantial progress since its introduction, many more pressing issues in need of urgent legislative attention took priority, leaving the bill stal...
For those interested in the current status on the pending legislation to reform noncompete law in Massachusetts, the Boston Bar Association will be hosting a symposium on noncompete reform. The paneli...
You are planning to terminate an employee or you have an employee who is in the process of resigning - or has already resigned. The employee is not subject to a noncompete, or maybe there is some ques...
Each time a new technology rolls out, legal decisions follow. Social media is the latest. Remember the cyberstalker? How about Facebook's lawsuit against Power.com? Or the class action against Face...
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...
Exactly one year ago, I wrote a post entitled "An Ounce of Prevention... " for my prior law firm's Trade Secret / Noncompete Blog (which I had created only days earlier). In the post, I recommended...
Are noncompetes legal? YES!! (I'm asked that question way too often.) Of course, the answer needs clarification. There are limits on the use of noncompetes. In addition to the standard requirements...
About one year after trying unsuccessfully to enforce a noncompetetition agreement against high level former executive David Johnson to prevent him from going to Dell, IBM is now seeking to prevent an...
This post is intended to answer many of the questions that I have been asked lately about the pending noncompete legislation. First, two important points: (1) The bill would not apply retroactiv...
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...