Category Archives: Trade Secret

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Employee Monitoring and Protecting Trade Secrets in Remote Work Environments

By Joseph Lavigne and PJ Kee on Posted in Data Protection, Trade Secret
With large swaths of the workforce working remotely, some employers have growing concerns about employee productivity, as well as information security and confidentiality. In today’s remote work era, organizations face significant challenges in balancing employee monitoring with safeguarding confidential information and trade secrets. This article explores key insights and strategies for HR professionals navigating these … Continue Reading

Jones Walker Trade Secrets Team Adds Mediation Capabilities

By Thomas Hubert on Posted in Jones Walker Announcements, Trade Secret
Jones Walker’s trade secrets, unfair competition, and non-competes team has launched its mediation services backed by years of litigation in this field and with a full understanding of the contentious nature of these disputes. Managed properly, alternative dispute resolution (ADR) methods such as mediation can be a more efficient and cost-effective method of dispute resolution than litigation. … Continue Reading

Mediate Early and Sometimes Often

By Thomas Hubert on Posted in Non-Compete, Trade Secret
Trade secret, breach of fiduciary duty, unfair trade practices, breach of restrictive covenants and retention agreements, and the many state and federal claims that come with departing employees or groups of employees often scream out for mediation. As our blog has demonstrated time and again, aggressive, and immediate action is necessary in these situations and typically … Continue Reading

Federal Appellate Court Vacates Order Denying Injunction in Biotechnology Trade Secret Dispute

By Jacob Pritt on Posted in Trade Secret
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans recently vacated an order from a Texas-based district court denying a preliminary injunction to Direct Biologics, LLC (“Direct Biologics”). The court ruled that Direct Biologics had presented sufficient evidence that its trade secret information in the hands of its former employee and … Continue Reading

Lavigne & Hubert Author Article in IPWatchdog

By Thomas Hubert and Joseph Lavigne on Posted in Trade Secret
Joe Lavigne and Tom Hubert, partners in the Labor & Employment Practice Group in the New Orleans office, authored “(Not-So) Amicable Separations: Preventing, Investigating, and Responding to Trade Secret Misappropriation by Departing Employees” published by IPWatchdog. Joe and Tom shared helpful tips to protect company trade secrets and confidential information from theft, liability, and employee … Continue Reading

A Broken Marriage: Bridal Designer Cannot Compete but Regains Control of Social Media Accounts

By Michael Foley and PJ Kee on Posted in Non-Compete, Trade Secret
In the case JLM Couture Inc. v. Gutman, in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, a bridal designer signed an employment agreement that barred her from competing with her employer – JLM Couture Inc. (JLM) – following her employment. The designer also agreed to give certain rights to JLM related to a bridal … Continue Reading

Hubert and Kee Present on Protecting Company Information

By Thomas Hubert and PJ Kee on Posted in Data Protection, Trade Secret
Tom Hubert and PJ Kee, partners in the Labor & Employment Practice Group, presented “Don’t Let The Grim Reaper Hack Into Your Trade Secrets” during the Louisiana Chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel October CLE on October 29, 2021. The presentation featured a discussion on proper techniques and best practices to protect yourself from … Continue Reading

Tips to Remember for Protecting Trade Secrets and Confidential Information

By Joseph Lavigne on Posted in Confidential Information, Non-Compete, Trade Secret, Trade Secret Audit
We hope you and your employees had a festive holiday season and happy New Year!  It is always helpful to review your company policies and procedures on an annual basis, and policies and procedures on protection of trade secrets and confidential information are no different.  Below are some tips to remember and questions to consider … Continue Reading

Lavigne and Kee Discuss Employee Productivity, Information Security, and Confidentiality on HR Works Podcast

By Thomas Hubert on Posted in Confidential Information, Employee Monitoring, Trade Secret
Trade Secret Insider co-founders Joe Lavigne and P.J. Kee were guests on the recent HR Works Podcast episode “HR Works 128: Employee Monitoring and Protecting Trade Secrets.” During the episode, Joe, P.J., and show host Jim Davis discuss issues employers have while monitoring remote employee productivity as well as how employers can protect their trade secrets … Continue Reading

Zooming In: How Using Zoom Improperly Can Destroy Trade Secret Protections

By Jason Culotta on Posted in NDAs, Trade Secret
In April, our editor, Joe Lavigne, explained how employers can ensure trade secret protections while allowing employees to work from home during the pandemic. The article advised employers to restrict the transmission of trade secrets through social media platforms like Zoom. A recent decision out of Delaware confirmed that the failure to use Zoom privacy … Continue Reading

Three Appellate Court Decisions Provide Valuable Lessons for the Enforceability of Restrictive Covenants in Employment Agreements

By PJ Kee and Michael Foley on Posted in NDAs, Trade Secret
Recently, the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, Fifth Circuit and Sixth Circuits reached decisions that analyze the enforceability of restrictive covenants in employment agreements. These decisions ultimately offer employers some valuable lessons when drafting employment agreements that contain restrictive covenants. An analysis of the decisions can be found here.… Continue Reading

The Wild (Kanye) West of Trade Secret Theft

By Michael Foley on Posted in Trade Secret
Musical artist and fashion icon Kanye West is being sued by a video and ecommerce company called MyChannel Inc. (MYC) that claims he breached their mutual nondisclosure agreement and took “their proprietary and confidential technology and information to fuel the e-commerce engine” of his Yeezy brand. MYC filed its lawsuit in the US District Court for … Continue Reading

UPDATE: Self-Driving Car Executive Sentenced to 1.5 years in Prison and Public Speech Tour for Trade Secret Theft

By Joseph Lavigne on Posted in Trade Secret
Since 2017, we have been covering the legal saga of Anthony Levandowski – the executive/engineer who allegedly stole Google’s trade secrets related to self-driving car technology and used it for the benefit of his new company, which he ultimately sold to Uber.  The saga included civil litigation, arbitration, bankruptcy, and criminal charges, but it seems … Continue Reading

Federal Court Rejects Request for In-Person Deposition in Trade Secret Case

By Thomas Hubert and Jacob Pritt on Posted in COVID-19, Trade Secret
With the COVID-19 pandemic still ongoing throughout the United States, lawyers have had to come up with creative solutions to complete discovery, particularly when it comes to taking depositions. Over the past few months and for the foreseeable future, most depositions are taking place, at least in part, using videoconferencing technology. As these depositions have … Continue Reading

Food Fight Breaks Out In Trade Secret Aisle

By PJ Kee on Posted in Confidential Information, Trade Secret
A trade secret fight has broken out among rival food companies. Mars, Inc. contends that a former executive downloaded several thousand files containing trade secrets and confidential business information shortly before switching sides to work for JAB Holding Company, LLC and its subsidiary Pret Panera Holding Company, Inc. The former executive is not Mars’s only … Continue Reading

Protecting Trade Secrets and Confidential Information from the Side Effects of the Coronavirus

By Joseph Lavigne on Posted in Trade Secret
The coronavirus has had an incredible negative impact across the globe. Besides the obvious medical issues, the virus has multiple side effects: closed schools, devastated the economy, multiple “stay at home” orders across the country, etc. In order to continue to do business and comply with the stay at home orders, many employers are allowing … Continue Reading

Federal Court Rules Damages under Trade Secret Act Can Extend beyond United States Borders

By Thomas Hubert and Jacob Pritt on Posted in Jones Walker Announcements, Trade Secret
After a trial that lasted more than three months, the eight-person jury empaneled by the Chicago-based court took only two and a half hours to deliberate, siding with Motorola and awarding them everything their attorneys had asked for in damages. The verdict came out to a shocking $764.6 million, or just under $350 million in … Continue Reading

Federal Court Rules Trade Secret Damages Can Extend beyond the U.S. border

By Thomas Hubert and Jacob Pritt on Posted in Trade Secret
In a high-profile trade secret case, a federal court in Chicago ruled that the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) extends beyond the U.S. and covers actions and damages that occur in other countries. Background. Back in 2017, telecommunications and technology conglomerate Motorola Solutions, Inc. brought a lawsuit against rival radio manufacturer Hytera Communicatoins Corporation, … Continue Reading

Jury Finds Uber Must Face $1B Trade Secrets Suit

By Michael Foley on Posted in Trade Secret
A California jury recently concluded that an inventor timely filed a trade secret lawsuit against Uber seeking $1 billion in damages. The inventor’s lawsuit claims that Uber and its founder stole his business concept, which the inventor alleges he shared sometime in 2006 under a promise that Uber’s founder would keep the concept confidential. Around … Continue Reading

Judge allows Chinese Company to view American Company’s Trade Secrets in Hong Kong as Part of Groundbreaking DOJ Litigation

By Jacob Pritt on Posted in Trade Secret
A federal judge in the Northern District of California ruled that Chinese state-owned Fujian Jinhua Integrated Circuit Co. and their Taiwanese partners United Microelectronics Corp. were legally entitled to review trade secret information they allegedly misappropriated from Idaho-based Micron Technology Inc. U.S. v. United Microelectronics Corp., No. 18-CR-465 (N.D. Cal.).  The ruling came as part … Continue Reading
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