Here are the noteworthy trade secret, non-compete and cybersecurity stories from the past week, as well as one or two that I missed over the past couple of weeks:

Trade Secret and Non-Compete Posts and Articles:

  • Add Illinois to the list of states considering legislation over their non-compete laws, as Kenneth Vanko advises in “A Brief Commentary on Illinois’ Proposed Noncompete Agreement Act” in his Legal Developments in Non-Competition Agreements Blog. Ken reports that, unlike the legislation in Minnesota, Michigan and Massachusetts which seeks to scale back or limit non-competes, the proposed legislation would tend to benefit employers.
  • “Schwab Says Ex-Advisers Diverted $47M In Accounts To Rival,” reports Law360.  Epstein Becker’s Peter Altieri has a post about the dispute as well.
  • “DuPont Trade-Secret Prosecutors Add Charges Against Liew,” reports Bloomberg.
  • “Recent Non-Compete Case Highlights Pennsylvania’s ‘Worthless Employee Doctrine’ advises Jonathan Pollard for the non-compete blog. This poorly-named doctrine holds that an employer cannot enforce a non-compete against an employee that it just terminated for poor performance.
  • The Unintellectual Property Blog has a post about a recent software trade secret dispute in Delaware against Cisco. In ExpertUniverse v. Cisco, the court applied the California Uniform Trade Secret Act and dismissed ExpertUniverse’s claims because it failed to adequately describe its trade secrets and demonstrate misappropriation.
  • “Want to avoid a prosecution under the Economic Espionage Act? You might want to consult “Economic Espionage Act: Seven Tips to Close a Fast-Growing Compliance Gap” by Lauren M. Papenhausen and Benjamin Franklin of McDermott, Will & Emery, LLP for Bloomberg Law.
  • Looking for a primer on forensic computer examinations?  Then check out “Nuts and Bolts for Terms Commonly Used in Trade Secret Computer Forensic Investigations” by Jonathan Karchmer for Seyfarth Shaw’s Trading Secrets Blog.
  • “It takes a village to protect trade secrets,” advises Naomi Fine of Pro-Tech for Forbes.
  • “Protecting Your Closely Held Business,” recommends Peter Vilmos for Burr & Forman’s Trade Secrets Non-Compete Blog.
  • In “Trade Secrets for Sale,” Douglas Alexander proposes a robust and aggressive trade secret protection program for EBN.
  • In “A Little-Publicized Change in Patent Law on Secret Prior Art,” Paul F. Prestia details changes in the America Invents Act that may permit an inventor to preserve an invention as a trade secret indefinitely for Corporate Counsel.  For more on this issue of the newly revised section §102(a)(1), see my post last fall.

Cybersecurity Posts and Articles:

  • Lots of articles on the Obama Administration upping its calls for China to address the reported cybersecurity attacks.  The New York Times is reporting that “Cyberattacks Prominent in Obama Call With New Chinese President.” Also check out “U.S. Demands That China End Hacking and Set Cyber Rules,” also by The Times, and “Obama Aide Demands China Stop Hacking” by The Wall Street Journal.  The Journal also had an op-ed piece this week by John Wohlsetter entitled “Chinese ‘Hackers’ Is a Misnomer. They’re Spies.”  Finally, Todd Sullivan provides his thoughts and takes the Administration to task for taking so long to single out China.
  • “How to avoid being hacked: Strong passwords and other security tips” recommends Anick Jasdenun for SiliconValley.com

Computer Fraud and Abuse Act Posts and Cases:

  • Looking for an update of recent CFAA cases? Then check out Shaw E. Tuma’s excellent summary here.
  • “When leaving your job, make sure you do this if you really want to violate the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act!”, another fine post by Shawn Tuma.