One of the key pieces of evidence a plaintiff in a trade secret case usually looks for is the downloading of company information from its computers prior to a former employee departing and joining a competitor. Generally, this “smoking gun” type of evidence shows that the employee on his or her last day accesses and
Additional Restrictions on Employer’s Use of Criminal History Checks
Last month this blog reported on an ordinance passed by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors that would ban the use of criminal history checkboxes from employment applications for employers in San Francisco. Employers statewide should note, however, that a new law became effective January 1, 2014 that adds further limitations on what information an
Another Non-Compete Held Unenforceable
Under California law, non-compete provisions with an employee are generally unenforceable. Statutory exceptions to this rule include the seller of a business’s goodwill or a membership interest in an LLC. Courts have also recognized a judicial exception to this rule: where the non-compete is necessary to protect an employer’s trade secret information. This judicial exception
Trade Secrets and “Susceptibility” to Reverse Engineering
Sometimes a defendant accused of trade secret misappropriation can defend on the basis that it has “reversed engineered” the alleged trade secret information and therefore did not misappropriate it. For instance, a defendant may be able to establish that it examined plaintiff’s product and then using its own know-how, time, energy and independent resources was
Trade Secrets and Other Preemption Doctrines
Readers of this blog know that we frequently discuss the doctrine of preemption under the California Uniform Trade Secrets Information Act. That is, a claim for trade secret misappropriation will preempt any other common law claims based on the “same nucleus of facts.” However, a recent decision in Jobscience, Inc. v CVPartners, Inc., N.D.