Home Trade Secrets | Noncompetes January 17, 2021A Close Look at D.C.’s Coming Noncompete Ban – 4 Things to Know and Do NowD.C. Mayor signed a bill to ban virtually all noncompetes for employees in D.C. It is likely to take effect in about a month, requires some affirmative conduct, and carries potentially hefty fines for violations. This is a law that you need to stay ahead of. January 9, 2021Fairly Competing Podcast LaunchedBen Fink, John Marsh, and I are pleased to announce the launch of Fairly Competing — a podcast providing in-depth analysis of trade secret law and the law of noncompetes and other restrictive covenants for a broad audience. January 2, 2021New Trade Secret and Noncompete Case Growth Graph (Updated January 2, 2021)About twice a year, I update my chart of reported noncompete and trade secrets decisions. As regular readers of this blog know, a little over a decade ago, I became curious to see how many reported trade secret and noncompete decisions were issued each year in all of the federal and state courts around the country. So, I did a “back of the envelope” calculation. I have performed similar calculations every year since. Here is the latest. January 1, 2021Stuck at Home Doesn’t Have to Mean Bored at Home – Happy New Year!Happy New Year! The pandemic has continued for 3/4 of a year and is looking like there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, with vaccines now out and being distributed. The prospects for a truly happy New Year are looking good. So, this will be the last update to the Stuck at Home series. December 16, 202047 states can be wrong, apparently: D.C. Council votes to ban (most) noncompetesDespite the misinformation, despite that the last ban on noncompetes was in Oklahoma before it was a state, and despite that literally every state in the past decade to consider a ban has rejected it, the D.C. Council has yielded to the rhetoric and voted to ban noncompetes. Next step: the bill now sits with D.C.’s mayor. December 8, 20203 Steps to Take Now To Protect Against President-elect Biden’s Proposed National (Partial) Ban on Noncompetes (Executive Summary Version)A few days ago, I posted a long article on President-elect Biden’s proposed national partial ban of noncompetes and what to do about it: President Biden’s Proposed Ban of (Most) Noncompetes: Protection Strategies and Steps to Take Now. To long? Here’s the summary. December 7, 202047 states can’t be wrong: D.C. to ban noncompetes (maybe)What concept did President Obama, President-elect Biden, and 47 states – including every single state to consider the issue in the past decade – reject? A ban on noncompetes. What bill did the Council of the District of Columbia Committee on Labor & Workforce Development just vote to approve? Yep: a ban on noncompetes. December 6, 2020“Low-wage” employees are exempt from nine noncompete laws. But, who is a low-wage employee?Nine states ban noncompetes for low-wage workers, yet, each state varies on the issue of who qualifies as a low-wage worker. This post discusses the standards applicable in each state. December 2, 2020President Biden’s Proposed Ban of (Most) Noncompetes: Protection Strategies and Steps to Take NowProtecting trade secrets, confidential business information, goodwill, and any other recognized legitimate business interests does not happen by accident. Companies need to plan. And, when one of the key tools is taken away (i.e., noncompetes), they need to look more closely at the remaining options to ensure they have the protections they need and that fit their circumstances. We discuss them in this post. November 30, 2020Computer Fraud and Abuse Act Supreme Court Oral Argument is Today!The split in the Circuits over the scope of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act is up at the U.S. Supreme Court today. The issue: Whether a person who is authorized to access information on a computer for certain purposes violates Section 1030(a)(2) of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act if he accesses the same information for an improper purpose. November 25, 202050 State Noncompete Chart Updated (November 26, 2020)Based on a review of recent noncompete decisions and laws from around the country, I have updated our chart, “Employee Noncompetes – A State-by-State Survey.” November 22, 2020Massachusetts Noncompetition Agreement Act: “Without Cause” (Possibly) ExplainedAs set forth in the Massachusetts Noncompetition Agreement Act, G.L. c. 149, § 24L, “[a] noncompetition agreement [entered into on or after October 1, 2018] shall not be enforceable against . . . employees that have been terminated without cause or laid off . . . .” Id. at § 24L(c). “Without cause” is not defined in the statute. Worse, its meaning – particularly when juxtaposed against the category of “laid-off” workers – is unclear. November 9, 2020Year-End Update on the Continuing Massachusetts Noncompete Legislative EffortsWith the 2019-2020 legislative session coming to an end in Massachusetts, we review the status of outstanding noncompete-related legislation pending at the statehouse. November 8, 2020Trade Secret Misappropriation: It doesn’t matter if you’re a bad bank robber – you’re still a bank robberTrade secret misappropriation is not a matter of degree. Either the defendant acquired, used, or disclosed information or he did not. October 23, 2020Upcoming Trade Secret Law LearningAs regular readers of this blog know, I focus on providing content, and don’t often suggest programs to attend. However, it just so happens that over the course of the next week, there are three programs that all provide some helpful insights, each in a different way. Take a look. October 18, 2020PSA: Protecting Trade Secrets – Working at Home – Training Video Is Updated and AvailableWe recently updated our “Ten Minute Training” series video, Protecting Trade Secrets – Working at Home. The need for this type of training has never been so compelling. Just look at Smash My Trash, LLC. View Posts by Year 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010
