Can a Lawsuit Help Mitigate the Risks of Trade Secret Theft?
Trade secret law is constantly evolving as technologies in the workplace change. Staying up to date is critical. Recently, I attended an online seminar focused on theft of trade secrets in the workplace. The presenters included private practice attorneys from a national firm and in-house IP counsel from two large companies. There was a consensus […]
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 […]
Computer Fraud and Abuse Act In Connecticut
Previously, I have posted about non-compete agreements and the duty of loyalty for employees. Many times, businesses do not have written contracts to protect confidential and proprietary information from not only competitors and vendors, but also their own employees. Without a contract, the common law of Connecticut concerning breach of fiduciary duty is one of […]
Laticrete Responds To 50 Million Dollar Verdict
Following my post about the Dur-A-Flex v. Laticrete jury verdict, I received a statement from Laticrete’s CEO, David Rothberg. You can read the full statement here. Mr. Rothberg stated that he is "extremely disappointed in the verdict." He added that the jury finding against Laticrete was "absolutely baseless." He left no secret as to Laticrete’s post trial plans as he […]
Do You Need A Contract To Stop A Former Employee From Competing?
The short answer is yes, a business does need a contract, also known as a "non-compete agreement," to prevent a former employee from fairly competing in business once the employee resigns. Even with a written agreement, there are limitations on non-compete agreements because they are viewed as a restraint of trade. To be enforceable, the restrictions in the […]
Did A Secretary Cause A Billion Dollar Default Judgment Against PepsiCo?
Imagine your company is so busy preparing for a board meeting that a secretary sets aside paperwork from a recently served lawsuit for a billion dollars over trade secrets. Imagine further that your company bureaucracy fails to put it together that a lawsuit has been filed until such a time that your company becomes defaulted in the case, to the tune […]
Business Litigation Blog Roundup
Here are some quick hits from Blogs I read around the country on business litigation. Dionne Searcey of the Wall Street Journal law blog reports on the intellectual property fight over the red, white, and blue "Hope" image of President Barrack Obama created by Los Angeles artist Shepard Fairey. Fairey is claiming his rights to […]