Posts Tagged ‘DTSA’
Ex Parte Seizures Five Years After the Enactment of the Defend Trade Secrets Act
This was first published in IPWatchdog on March 26, 2021. “Parties seeking the extraordinary remedy of an ex parte seizure order should emphasize whether, for example, the defendant has a high level of computer proficiency and that such a defendant may find ways to hide, quickly disseminate, or otherwise destroy key evidence if such…
Read MoreDOJ’s “China Initiative”: An Upate
2020 was the two-year anniversary of the Department of Justice’s “China Initiative,” which was intended to increase the focus on the investigation and prosecution of trade secret theft and economic espionage with a Chinese connection under the Economic Espionage Act (“EEA”). According to the DOJ, it charged three economic espionage cases under 18 U.S.C. sec.…
Read MoreTrade Secrets Lessons from Epic Systems Corp. v. Tata Consultancy Services
“This is one of the largest-ever awards in a trade secret case. For smaller companies, it may be large enough to put them out of business. It is critical, therefore, that companies take steps, including training employees not to steal trade secrets.” On August 20, the Seventh Circuit in Epic Systems Corp. v. Tata Consultancy…
Read MoreImproper Means’: The Eleventh Circuit’s Very Dubious Trade Secrets Decision in Compulife Software v. Newman (Part II)
This article was first published in IPWatchdog.com on July 14, 2020. “The court’s analysis is flawed, and it relies on authority that is of limited value.” Part 1of this article addressed the Eleventh Circuit’s decision in Compulife Software, Inc. v. Newman, __ F.3d __, 2020 WL 2549505, (11th Cir. May 20, 2020) and the court’s…
Read MoreThe Sedona Conference’s Commentary on the Proper Identification of Asserted Trade Secrets in Misappropriation Cases.
Two of the more important issues in trade secret cases involve when the plaintiff is required to identify its alleged trade secrets, and the degree of specificity with which they must be identified. However, the DTSA does not address either of these issues and most state courts have not agreed on uniform standards. The degree…
Read MoreThe Scientist and the Spy by Mara Hvistendahl
The history of corporate espionage in the United States is not a recent development. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the British textile industry was by far the largest in the world and was largely driven by its technological superiority especially the “Cartwright Loom,” which was considered the crown jewel of that industry. Using…
Read MoreThe Fragile Nature of Trade Secrets: Clues from the Courts on How to Keep Them
“While companies are not required to institute every security measure possible to ensure that their confidential information qualifies as a trade secret, the more security measures implemented, the greater the likelihood that courts will find that the trade secret owner undertook ‘reasonable measures.’” Trade secrets have become an increasingly valuable asset to many companies, but…
Read MoreReview of Key 2019 Trade Secret Decisions and Trends (Part I)
In general, A trade secret is any information used in business if the owner has taken reasonable measures to keep such information secret, and the information derives independent economic value, from not being generally known to, and not being readily ascertainable through proper means by the public. Almost every state has adopted some form of…
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