Trade Secret

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Prior blog posts have addressed the issue of when a court may award attorneys’ fees in a trade secret misappropriation case.  Under the California trade secret statute, the court may award attorneys’ fees where there has been a willful and malicious misappropriation of plaintiff’s trade secrets or when a trade secret misappropriation claim is brought…

Readers of this blog will note our frequent reminders that preemption under California’s Uniform Trade Secret Act (“CUTSA”) can threaten other common law claims if not properly pled.  A recent decision out of the Eastern District of California in Hat World, Inc. v. Kelly, 2012 U.S. Dist. Lexis 113060 (Aug. 10, 2012) reinforces this position. 

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While the bulk of trade secret litigation focuses on civil claims and remedies, an article from last week’s Chicago Tribune is a reminder that stealing trade secrets can have serious consequences. The Chicago Tribune story (link here: http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/breaking/chi-chinese-engineer-to-be-sentenced-for-stealing-motorola-secrets-20120719,0,1594304.story) reports that the sentencing for a software developer caught with taking Motorola, Inc.’s trade secrets will…

There are good, legitimate reasons for filing a trade secret and unfair competition case.  The protection of trade secrets and proprietary information and protection against unfair conduct by competitors are just a few.   There are also business reasons for bringing such a claim, including burdening a competitor or a startup competitor with the cost of …

It is common for plaintiffs in employee-related trade secrets and unfair competition cases to allege something of a grab bag of statutory and common law theories.  Often, claims of misappropriation of trade secrets, intentional interference with economic advantage, breach of duty, and common law unfair competition will be based on the same set of facts…