On September 23rd, 2019, the District Court for the District of Colorado awarded Atlas Biologicals, Inc. a total of $2 million against Defendant Thomas Kutrubes and his company, Peak Serum, Inc. Kutrubes, a part owner and former employee of Atlas, was found liable for trademark infringement, misappropriation of trade secrets, and breach of fiduciary duty.
S.D.N.Y. Holds the 2016 DNC WikiLeaks Dump Did Not Violate The Defend Trade Secrets Act
On July 30th, 2019, the District Court for the Southern District of New York held that a news outlet’s publication of the Democratic National Convention’s (DNC) allegedly stolen trade secrets did not violate the Defend Trade Secrets Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1831, et seq. (“DTSA”).
In April 2018, the DNC filed suit against the Defendants, alleging that the Russian Federation’s military intelligence agency unlawfully hacked into the DNC’s computers and conspired with WikiLeaks to publicly distribute stolen campaign materials, which were at times helpful to the Trump Campaign.
Continue Reading S.D.N.Y. Holds the 2016 DNC WikiLeaks Dump Did Not Violate The Defend Trade Secrets Act
The ITC Institutes New 337 Investigation for Misappropriation of Trade Secrets Relating to Foodservice Equipment
A recent International Trade Commission (ITC) case shows that, although rarely used, the ITC remains a viable option for parties pursuing trade secret misappropriation claims. Trade secret claims can be brought under Section 337(a)(1)(A)’s catch-all for other “unfair methods of competition and unfair acts in the importation of articles”—often called “non-statutory” claims—and can result in
Huawei in Hot Water: Trump Declares National Emergency
On Wednesday, May 15th, President Trump declared a national emergency via executive order over threats against American technology. The order authorized Department of Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, in consultation with various other agency heads to block transactions involving information or communications technology posing an “unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States.”
The
Delaware Chancery Court Adopts a “Narrow Approach” in Applying the CFAA, Aligning Itself with the Ninth, Second, and Fourth Circuits
On May 10, 2019, the Delaware Chancery Court issued an opinion adopting a “narrow approach” in interpreting Section 1030(a)(2)(C) of Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA). Section 1030(a)(2)(C) imposes liability on a person who “intentionally accesses a computer without authorization or exceeds authorized access, and thereby obtains… information from any protected computer.” 18 U.S.C. §
Two Men Indicted for Alleged Theft of GE Trade Secrets for Turbine Technology
On April 18, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York unsealed an indictment accusing Zheng Xiaoqing, a former senior engineer for steam turbine design at GE, and Zhang Zhaoxi, a Chinese national, of conspiring to steal GE’s design data and models, engineering drawings, material specifications, configuration files, and other proprietary trade
Tracking 2019 Trends In State and Federal Legislation
Legislators at the state and federal levels have been focused on laws that, for the most part, restrict the use of non-compete agreements or modify existing trade secret provisions. Practitioners can track the progress of these proposals to stay aware of changes that may impact their clients in 2019.
Most of the recent bills being
No Such Thing as Small Potatoes When It Comes To Protecting Your Trade Secrets
A recent decision from the Eighth Circuit serves as a reminder that trade secret holders must not sleep on their rights when presented with information that would put a reasonable person on notice of potential misappropriation. See CMI Roadbuilding, Inc. v. Iowa Parts, Inc., No. 18-1075, 2019 WL 1474022 (8th Cir. Apr. 4, 2019).
Restrict Covenants in the Eleventh Circuit
Each of the states within the Eleventh Circuit governs the use of restrictive covenants through statutes. Generally, both Florida and Alabama permit the use of restrictive covenants where the restrictive covenant is “reasonably necessary” to protect a legitimate business interest, but the legitimate business interest requirement is applied differently in both jurisdictions. Alabama law prohibits
U.S. Continues to Take Strong Action to Combat against Chinese Economic Espionage
Despite continued trade talks with China, the federal government continues to aggressively pursue efforts to prevent and hold Chinese companies accountable for trade secret theft and economic espionage. As described below, in the last month alone, the U.S. Government has taken three very decisive actions in combating the threat.
- The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee announced the