Here are the noteworthy trade secrets, non-compete and cybersecurity stories from the past week:
Noteworthy Trade Secret and Non-Compete Posts and Cases:
- The big news in the trade secret blogosphere this week was Todd Sullivan’s announcement that he will be leaving Womble Carlyle and forming a litigation boutique firm, Graebe Hanna & Sullivan. Todd has been blogging since 2006 and his contributions to the Trade Secrets Blog made it one of the best, and funniest, trade secret blogs. Hopefully, he will find the time to launch a new blog after he hits the ground with his new firm.
- Google has been sued for allegedly copying portions of its video chat platform from the company Be In, which offers its own video chat program, CamUp. Be In alleges that it discussed a business deal with Google at a meeting in London last April. According to the complaint, after signing a non-disclosure agreement with Google, “Be In provided a live demonstration of its CamUp product, and proposed that a ‘Watch with your Friends’ button be embedded within all YouTube pages.”
- Law360 is reporting that trade secret claims brought by Therason against former McDermott Will & Emery partner John Fuisz have been dismissed as untimely. Therason, at the time a client of McDermott, had alleged that Fuisz had shared its trade secrets with a pharmaceutical company formed by his family members.
- Are you an employee looking down the barrel of a cease and desist letter from your former employer? Then you should review Rob Dean’s latest post on the Virginia Non-Compete Blog for advice on how to respond.
- For those practicing in Illinois, Kenneth Vanko reports that Illinois courts are all over the place in their application of the Illinois Supreme Court’s Reliable Fire v. Arredondo decision last year. In Reliable Fire, the Supreme Court found that an employer had to come forward with evidence of a legitimate business interest to justify enforcement of any covenant not to compete. As Kenneth and I both predicted, this fact-based approach has made non-compete cases highly unpredictable and more uncertain for employers and employees.
- The IPKat Blog has an interesting post about how trade secrets may serve to enhance the reputation of some companies.
- Although it is a relative newcomer to the blogosphere, Burr & Forman’s Non-Compete & Trade Secrets Blog continues to churn out good, practical posts. This week’s post, “Court Says It’s Time to Pay The Piper, Even if the Piper Hasn’t Paid: Fee Provisions and Third Party Payments,” looks at the enforceability of prevailing party provisions in non-compete disputes
Cybersecurity Posts and Articles:
- Concerns about confidentiality, privilege and cloud computing continue to swirl, and Peter S. Vogel’s Internet, Information Technology and e-Discovery Blog has some helpful links to a recent interview that Peter gave on the subject as well as a Texas CLE on the subject.
News You Can Use:
- “Fix That Password—Now!” says The Wall Street Journal, with some advice on what passwords work best.