2020 saw a marked uptick in unfair import investigations at the International Trade Commission (ITC), with an especially strong close to the year: eight new complaints in December alone brought the year’s total to 62 new complaints to the Commission, well above the ten-year average of 49. Complaints alleging trade secret misappropriation rose particularly, as the ITC becomes increasingly popular due to its speed, jurisdiction and unique remedies. While just five investigations solely of trade secrets were instituted in the five years of 2011-2015, fifteen such investigations were instituted in the next five years of 2016-2020, including five in 2020 alone.[1]
Continue Reading Unfair Import Investigations Rise at the U.S. ITC in 2020—Particularly as to Trade Secrets
DC’s New Non-Compete Ban Implicates Trade Secret Protections in the District
On January 11, Mayor Muriel Bowser signed “The Ban on Non-Compete Agreements Amendment Act of 2020” (the “Act”). Though some other states and municipalities have restricted the use of non-compete agreements, the District of Columbia’s new ban – once it is applicable – will go further than similar laws in any other jurisdiction. With few exceptions, employers in the District of Columbia will not be allowed to include non-compete provisions in employment agreements or maintain workplace policies that prohibit employees from simultaneously working for a competitor of the employer. Employers with operations in the District of Columbia also must be aware of the notice and non-retaliation requirements, as well as the penalties for non-compliance.
Continue Reading DC’s New Non-Compete Ban Implicates Trade Secret Protections in the District
Please Join Us for a Webinar: 2020 Trade Secrets Year in Review
Crowell & Moring invites you to attend the webinar, 2020 Trade Secrets Year in Review, taking place on Thursday, January 28 at 12:00 pm ET. We will cover what you need to know about the big cases, changes, and developments relating to trade secrets from the past year.
Join Raija Horstman, Molly Jones and
ACC Europe Webinar – The EU Whistleblower Directive: A Burden or an Opportunity?
The EU Whistleblower Directive: A Burden or an Opportunity?
Tension between the p
rotection of whistleblowers and the protection of trade secrets?
Companies should see the obligations set out in the EU Whistleblower Directive regarding internal reporting channels as an opportunity rather than a burden. Having an internal tool to facilitate detection of possible misconduct
The Year’s Most Popular Posts
As the year comes to a close, it’s safe to say 2020 was a year unlike any other and full of lessons to be learned from the COVID-19 pandemic to the growing threat to U.S. intellectual property abroad.
A look back on the 10 most read posts from this past year highlights some key developments
Please Join Us for the Fifth Installment of our 2020 Webinar Series: The Revolving Door of Autonomous Vehicle Talent
Crowell & Moring invites you to attend the fifth installment of our Trade Secrets Webinar Series – The Revolving Door of Autonomous Vehicle Talent: Managing Employee Access to Trade Secrets & Facilitating Robust Investigation of Safety Issues, taking place on Tuesday, May 12th at 02:00 pm (EDT).
Autonomous Vehicle (“AV”) developers have been aggressively working to safeguard their vital design documents and data, and have increasingly relied on lawsuits to protect their proprietary information and to prevent such information from reaching their competitors as human talent continues to revolve through the AV industry. Given the increasing popularity of self-driving technology, AV developers should remain vigilant in protecting the trade secrets governing their autonomous vehicle programs and should be sure to implement sound policies for retrieving data upon employee departure.
Join Crowell & Moring attorneys Cheryl Falvey, Rukiya Mohamed, and Paul Mathis for a live discussion on trade secret and liability issues unique to AV developers as well as best practices.
To register, please click here.
Continue Reading Please Join Us for the Fifth Installment of our 2020 Webinar Series: The Revolving Door of Autonomous Vehicle Talent
Please Join Crowell & Moring’s Team of IP Attorneys for a Webinar on Trade Secret Protection During COVID-19 and Remote Working Environment
In addition to reshaping how business is being done, COVID-19 has presented companies with unprecedented challenges and an increasingly remote work force and has made it more important than ever for businesses to evaluate the security and protection of their trade secrets and confidential information.
Crowell & Moring attorneys Jim Stronski, Anne Li,
Prosecutions of Trade Secret Theft by Former Employees in Autonomous Vehicle Development
As autonomous vehicles quickly move farther towards the mainstream, the underlying technology has become increasingly more valuable and has led to an uptick in the theft of autonomous vehicle (“AV”) trade secrets. Indeed, criminal prosecutions of former employees for trade secret theft have been on the rise, especially in the autonomous vehicle segment. Two recent cases underscore the enforcement agencies’ efforts to stem the rise in trade secret theft in the AV segment. Anthony Scott Levandowski was a former executive at both Uber and Google. He departed Google and created a new company named Ottomotto, LLC that was later purchased by Uber. Levandowski pled guilty to theft of trade secrets from Google, admitting that he downloaded approximately 14,000 files from an internal, password-protected Google server to his personal laptop, including a key internal tracking document from Google that detailed the status of its self-driving car program. Levandowki faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, and $250,000 fine plus restitution.
Continue Reading Prosecutions of Trade Secret Theft by Former Employees in Autonomous Vehicle Development
Please Join Us for the Third Installment of our 2020 Webinar Series: Top 10 Tips for Safeguarding Trade Secrets
Crowell & Moring invites you to attend the third installment of our Trade Secrets Webinar Series: Top 10 Tips for Safeguarding Trade Secrets, taking place on Tuesday, March 10th at 02:00 pm (EDT).
Instituting and maintaining a trade secret protection policy is a challenge. If no policy is yet in place, it may be difficult to decide where to begin. For an existing policy, ensuring its efficacy and adequacy under the law is time-consuming. Regardless of your situation, the solution is to take purposeful and informed action to improve the protection of your highest priority trade secrets.
Join Crowell & Moring attorneys Jim Stronski, Anne Li, and Robert Kornweiss to hear their top 10 tips for safeguarding your company’s trade secrets – a list of concrete actions you can assess, adapt, and implement based on your company’s priorities.
To register, please click here.
Continue Reading Please Join Us for the Third Installment of our 2020 Webinar Series: Top 10 Tips for Safeguarding Trade Secrets
AIPLA Annual Trade Secret Law Summit – March 2020 – Register here
Crowell & Moring is a proud sponsor of this year’s AIPLA Trade Secret Law Summit, taking place March 16th – 17th in San Francisco’s South Financial District.
We invite you to join us the evening of March 16th for a cocktail reception at Crowell & Moring’s San Francisco office, starting