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:
Computer Fraud and Abuse Act Posts and Cases:
- In a case that is already at the center of the debate raging over the scope of the CFAA, David Nosal was convicted yesterday on six counts by a San Francisco jury. The Recorder’s Vanessa Blum has been following the trial closely and her summary of the verdict and trial can be found here. The Ninth Circuit, in a widely reported en banc opinion last year, dismissed six of the CFAA charges against the former Korn/Ferry International employee on the grounds that the district court had too broadly applied the terms “exceeded authorized access,” but prosecutors were able to salvage three of the claims on remand. Not surpisingly, Nosal attorneys are optimistic about their grounds on appeal.
- “Why Is Congress Trying to Make Our Internet Abuse Laws Worse, Not Better?” ask Profossors Orin Kerr and Lawrence Lessig for The Atlantic.
Trade Secret and Non-Compete Posts and Articles:
- “AT&T Ducks $35M Trade Secrets Suit Over Smartphone Tech,” reports Law360.
- “Zynga Rival Fires Back in Trade Secret Suit,” reports Max Taves for Corporate Counsel.
- “Physician Non-Competes Upheld by South Carolina Court of Appeals: Baugh v. Columbia Heart Clinic, P.A.,” reports Andy Arnold for the Beat Your Non-Compete Blog.
- “Employee Data Theft and Corporate Hacking Studies Point to Need for Additional Federal Trade Secrets Legislation,” advise Robert Milligan and Jessica Mendelson for Seyfarth Shaw’s Trading Secrets Blog.
- North Carolina “Appeals court calls non-compete agreements ‘unconscionable’ in local staffing company dispute,” reports Chris Bagley for the Triangle Business Journal.
- “Mass-Mailing To Public Employees Did Not Violate Non-Solicitation Agreement,” reports John Paul Nefflen for Burr & Forman’s Non-Compete Trade Secrets Law Blog.
- “Trade Secrets In the Cloud: When Can Cloud Providers Access and Share Your Information?” asks Eric Ostroff in his Trade Secrets Law Blog.
- Looking for more on the New Jersey statute limiting non-competes for unemployed workers? Then check out Kenneth Vanko’s post, “New Jersey Non-Compete Bill Follows Maryland Lead – And Then Takes It a Step Further,” as well as Epstein Becker’s post.
- “Google Says IP Law Boutique Must Hand Over Personnel File,” reports Law360.
- “What tech companies can learn from Coca-Cola: Trade secrets can be effective at protecting software code and other related assets,” recommend Gregory Novak and Matt Todd for Inside Counsel.
- “Settlements (Part 3 of 3): Dealing With a Defendant’s Bankruptcy in Non-Compete Litigation,” advises Kenneth Vanko for his Legal Developments in Non-Competition Agreements.
- Russell Beck has posted his always outstanding “Issues and Cases in the News for April 2013” on his Fair Competition Blog.
Cybersecurity Posts and Articles:
- CISPA passed the U.S. House of Representatives last week. For details on the bill and mounting oppositiion from privacy advocates, see Hayley Tsukayama’s post for The Washington Post here.
- Verizon issued its Data Breach Investigations Report for 2013, a fine summary of which can be found here, courtesy of Lucian Constantin for PCWorld.
- “Law Firms Must Devote More Resources To Data Security,” advises Daniel B. Garrie of Law & Forensics LLC for Law360.
- “Cyber Criminals Have Small Businesses in Their Cross-Hairs,” warns Joshua Sophy for Small Business Trends.