Trade Secrets | Noncompetes
The other day, I was listening to 1970’s and 80’s music (which I am wont to do, much to my wife’s chagrin). The music, as music often does, evoked memories of the past. Think what you will, but one of those memories was of a decision issued by U.S. District Court Judge O’Toole (for those not familiar … Continue reading Trade Secrets and Noncompetes – Music to My Ears: The Cease and Desist Letter
It turns out that global climate change is caused by a decrease in the number of pirates. Don’t believe it? See the chart to the right. This is an example of mistaking correlation for causation. Correlation does not imply causation. A Developing Problem of Presumed Causation The assumption that correlation implies causation arises often in … Continue reading Correlation Does Not Imply Causation: The False Comparison of Silicon Valley and Boston’s Route 128
On June 24, 2019, the United States Supreme Court issued its much-awaited decision in Food Marketing Institute v. Argus Leader Media, addressing the intersection of trade secrets law and the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). In short, the Supreme Court held that confidential information is exempt from disclosure under FOIA, regardless of whether (or not) its … Continue reading New SCOTUS Decision on the Intersection of FOIA and Trade Secrets
Who controls what’s in your brain? When a former employee knows his or her former employer’s trade secrets, the former employer may be able to obtain injunctive relief preventing the employee, not just from disclosing such information, but from working for a competitor under the so-called “inevitable disclosure doctrine.” Alternatively stated, “where an employee’s work … Continue reading Inevitable Disclosure Doctrine – A Brief History and Summary
Oregon’s noncompete law has been a work-in-progress for more than a decade, and the legislature is at it again: A new change to Oregon’s already progressive noncompete law. What it says… On May 14, 2019, Oregon Governor Kate Brown signed HB 2992 (“Relating to noncompetition agreements; creating new provisions; and amending ORS 653.295“). Effective January 1, … Continue reading Legislative Update: Oregon modifies its noncompete law – again!
In the continuing stream of states reviewing and modifying their noncompete and trade secrets laws, another state – Maryland – has taken the approach of banning noncompetes for low-wage workers – as suggested by the Obama Administration’s Call to Action. (For earlier developments this year, see New trade secret and noncompete legislation: What’s already happened … Continue reading Legislative Update: Maryland Eliminates Noncompetes for “Low Wage” Workers
On May 8, 2019, HB 1450 (“An Act Relating to restraints, including noncompetition covenants, on persons engaging in lawful professions, trades, or businesses; adding a new chapter to Title 49 RCW; and providing an effective date”) was signed by Governor Inslee. The new law will be effective on January 1, 2020. As explained in New trade … Continue reading Washington State Overhauls Its Noncompete Law
Having just completed my most-recent review of every state’s pending and recently enacted noncompete legislation, I have updated the BRR 50 State Noncompete Chart today (April 27, 2019) to reflect those changes. (See “New trade secret and noncompete legislation: What’s already happened and what you can expect for the rest of the year in every state“ for the background.) … Continue reading 50 State Noncompete Chart Updated
Updated April 28, 2019 Occasionally, I mention blogs and other resources (and include links) when they are relevant to a topic that I’m discussing and they have reliable information. More generally, before refreshing the look of this blog (quite awhile ago at this point), I used to have a so-called “blog roll” (not my term) … Continue reading Recommended Resources for Trade Secrets and Restrictive Covenants (Noncompetes, Nonsolicits, No-Raids, Etc.)
It’s been awhile since I’ve had the time to update the Changing Trade Secrets | Noncompete Laws page. Lots has happened in the interim – see below for all of the updates so far this year. I will also be updating the main Changing Trade Secrets | Noncompete Laws page in the very near future … Continue reading New trade secret and noncompete legislation: What’s already happened and what you can expect for the rest of the year in every state
Over the past few years, there have been a few bills at the federal level that would ban or limit the use of noncompetes. (I will be updating the Changing Trade Secrets | Noncompete page soon to reflect the more recent of those and some other recent developments, so stay tuned. In the meantime…) This … Continue reading Another Federal Noncompete Bill
In preparation for the start of my class (I teach Trade Secrets and Restrictive Covenants at my old law school, Boston University School of Law), I re-ran my chart of reported noncomepte and trade secrets decisions. As regular readers of this blog know, several years ago, I became curious to see how many reported trade secret … Continue reading New Trade Secret and Noncompete Survey – National Case Graph (Updated January 13, 2019)
It was only a matter of time… we now have a decision. For years, we’ve wrestled with how to handle enforcement or defense of a noncompete agreement between a California employee and an out-of-state employer. It frequently involved a race to the courthouse. Then, in 2013, the United States Supreme Court gave us Atlantic Marine, and … Continue reading It was only a matter of time…
Back in July, I posted a story about how courts and lawyers frequently assess whether a noncompete is overly broad by asking whether the restriction would prevent the employee from working as a janitor. If it can, the agreement is generally considered to be overly broad. See Cleaning up overly broad noncompetes: the “Janitor Rule.” The test has … Continue reading Do we need a replacement for the janitor rule?
The BRR 50 State Noncompete Chart has been updated today to reflect a new laws in Idaho, Massachusetts, and Utah (and a few additional tweaks in other states). (See “Changing Trade Secrets | Noncompete Laws” for the background.) In sum, Idaho removed a presumption that it created in 2016, Massachusetts passed its first noncompete statute, making … Continue reading 50 State Noncompete Chart Updated (Idaho, Massachusetts, Utah)
This is an update to reflect the adoption by Massachusetts of its own version of the Uniform Trade Secrets Act. The background: Until now, every state but Massachusetts and New York had adopted the Uniform Trade Secrets Act (the UTSA) in one form or another – though some may quibble with whether Alabama or North Carolina actually adopted … Continue reading Trade Secrets Laws and the UTSA – A 50 State and Federal Law Survey Chart (updated for Massachusetts)