Parol Evidence Rule Can Sting In Court

 Parties to contracts frequently argue over contract terms and the intent behind certain provisions of a contract.  However, if the matter goes to court, these arguments can become meaningless if the contract is clear because of the parol evidence rule.  A recent appellate court case, Connecticut Bank and Trust Co. v. Munsill-Borden Mansion, LLC, serves to […]

Trade Secret Theft on the Cloud: Concerns For Both Employers and Employees

Max Taves authored an article posted by Law Technology News  entitled "Trade Secret Spats Center on Cloud."  The article highlights the increasing difficulty employers face when trying to avoid theft of confidential information when employees have access to third party storage providers such as DropBox, Googe Docs, SugarSync, and SkyDrive.  Third party data storage providers […]

Non-Compete Agreement Tips for Partners, Executives, and Employees

In this post, I continue the discussion about non-compete agreements in Connecticut.  This time, I focus on the employee side.  Here are 5 things to think about when leaving employment if you have a non-compete agreement.   Do not believe water cooler experts.  Many employees come to believe what they hear at the water cooler […]

Supreme Court Offers Another Reminder on Personal Liability for Corporate Officers

 Can an officer of a corporation face personal liability in a business transaction?  The Connecticut Supreme Court clearly stated that personal liability exists for corporate officers in certain circumstances.  The case is Coppola Construction Company, Inc. v. Hoffman Enterprises Limited Partnership. The sole issue on appeal was "whether a corporate principal or officer may be […]

Tips On How To Reduce The Risk Of Intellectual Property Theft

 In my last post, I wrote about the risks facing businesses when there is a departing employee.  It can be fairly argued that in the next 3 years your average business will have to deal with a disgruntled, departing employee.  The employee will have had access to confidential information in digital form.  Studies have shown […]

Confidential Information and the Departing Employee

I recently ran a seminar for the Human Resources Association of Central CT on "Effectively Managing Your Departing Employees."  The issues concerned  how attorneys can help to eliminate, prevent, or mitigate the risks of intellectual property theft.  In this post, I will define the basics of the problem.  In the next post, I will cover […]

What To Do If You Suspect Your Business Partner Is Stealing – Some Basics

In any case involving theft by a business partner or business dispute, it is very important to have an understanding of the basic issues and legal framework. Although these cases often involve complex problems, you cannot determine a good course of action without starting with the basics.   Here are 5 of the basic issues […]

New John Doe Copyright Infringement Suit Filed in Connecticut

A lawsuit relating to online copyright infringement of synthesizer software using “peer-to-peer” networks was filed recently in Connecticut District Court.  The case is captioned reFX Audio Software, Inc. v. Does 1-89.  The complaint alleges that certain individuals and Connecticut residents committed acts of copyright infringement through the use of a common “peer-to-peer” (“P2P”) file transfer protocol […]

Deciding to Enforce A Non-Compete Agreement in Connecticut – 5 Tips

Many Connecticut business owners have agreements (so called "non-compete agreements") in place with their employees concerning competition or solicitation. When an employee leaves a company, business owners have to decide if they should try to enforce the non-compete agreement by filing a lawsuit or engaging an attorney. Here are 5 factors to consider:   1. […]

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