New York has recently enacted disclosure laws that could impact clean product manufacturers’ ability to protect their trade secret chemical formulations. While California was the first U.S. state to pass a law requiring disclosure of all substances contained in cleaning products, New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation (“DEC”) Household Cleansing Product Information Disclosure Program imposes
When You Commit the Crime, Not Only Will You Do the Time, But You Will Also Pay the Fine
In July 2018, U.S. District Judge James Patterson imposed a $59 million penalty against China’s largest wind-turbine firm, Sinovel Wind Group LLC (“Sinovel”), for stealing trade secrets from a Massachusetts-based technology company, American Superconductor Inc. (“AMSC”). This fine was imposed as restitution to the American company, AMSC, after Sinovel was found guilty of stealing
The DNC Tests the Meaning of Trade Secrets in the Political Arena
Under the Defend Trade Secrets Acts (DTSA), 18 U.S.C. §1836 et seq., a “trade secret” is any type of “financial, business, scientific, technical, economic, or engineering information” that “derives independent economic value … from not being generally known to, and not being readily ascertainable through proper means by, another person who can obtain economic value from the disclosure or use of the information.”
The Democratic National Committee (“DNC”) filed a lawsuit against Russia, Wikileaks, the Trump Campaign, and several individuals (including Julian Assange, Jared Kushner, and a hacker named “Guccifer 2.0”) on April 20, 2018 in Federal District Court for the Southern District of New York. The DNC alleges that Russia, Guccifer 2.0, Wikileaks, and Assange violated the DTSA, and that all of the defendants violated the Washington D.C. Uniform Trade Secrets Act, D.C. Code Ann. §§ 36-401-46-410. The complaint defines the stolen secrets as “confidential proprietary documents related to campaigns, fundraising, and campaign strategy.” Specific documents include: (1) a DNC-authored opposition research report on Donald Trump from December 2015; (2) DNC strategy documents related to the DNC’s “counter-convention” to the RNC convention; (3) personal information-including social security and passport numbers-of individuals who communicated with or donated to the DNC; and (4) Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta’s hacked emails.
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PharMerica Learns the Hard Way: One Must Have a Trade Secret In Order to Survive a Motion for Summary Judgment
PharMerica Corporation (“PharMerica”) is a Delaware corporation headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky that provides institutional and hospital pharmacy services throughout the United States. The company filed a lawsuit in September 2016 in the Federal District Court of Pennsylvania alleging several employment and tort-related claims, and claims of misappropriation of Trade Secrets under the Pennsylvania Uniform Trade
Diversity is Important – But Is It A Trade Secret?
On January 14, 2018, IBM’s Chief Diversity Officer resigned to go work for Microsoft in the same role. The caveat: she had a twelve month non-compete clause.
On February 12, 2018, IBM filed a lawsuit to enjoin its former diversity officer to honor her non-compete agreement with IBM and to recover damages. The suit, filed in Southern District New York court, alleges that the IBM non-compete agreement that the defendant signed has a New York federal and state choice of forum provision and is, therefore, enforceable. In addition to a breach of the non-compete agreement, IBM asserts a claim for misappropriation of its trade secrets. According to IBM, if its former diversity officer “is permitted to work for Microsoft, [she] will inevitably (if inadvertently) use and/or disclose IBM trade secrets for her own benefit and for the benefit of Microsoft.” In addition to injunctive relief (seeking an order requiring its former employee to honor the non-compete agreement), IBM is also seeking compensatory damages. It has also demanded that its former employee remit to them her equity compensation because of this alleged breach of her employment agreement. As to the demand that the employee return the equity compensation she had earned as an employee, IBM’s theory is that the employee is engaging directly in a business which is competitive with IBM. Furthermore, IBM asserts that this is considered a “detrimental activity” under the Long Term Performance Plan agreement in which the employee’s equity awards are governed by and, subject to cancellation and in certain circumstances like this, are subject to repayment.
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When You Do the Crime, You Must Do the Time
Sinovel Wind Group Co. Ltd. (“Sinovel”) was convicted on January 24, 2018 for stealing trade secrets from AMSC, a U.S. based company. In March 2011, Sinovel, a manufacturer and exporter of wind turbines based in the People’s Republic of China, contracted with AMSC to sell more than $800 million in products and services for its
A Trade Secret Telenovela: Defendants Alleged to Have Misappropriated Trade Secrets, Engage in Tortious Interference, and Unfair Trade Practices
Earlier this month, Sunbelt, a North Carolina Corporation, filed a federal lawsuit against Vortex companies and Vortex Turnkey Solutions (hereinafter named “Vortex”) alleging misappropriation of trade secrets, tortious interference, and unfair trade practices. In a case of follow the “footprints,” Sunbelt alleges that Vortex, through a serious of events, “willingly accepted information from Ghent, a