Insights on Trade Secrets, Noncompetes & Employee Mobility

In an unpublished opinion filed on May 8, 2015, the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit sent trade secret owners a strong reminder of the important role written confidentiality agreements play in protecting valuable intellectual property.

On April 16, 2015, the Virginia Supreme Court threw out a contempt citation against social media company Yelp, Inc. (Yelp) in a closely watched case involving anonymous free speech rights on the internet.

On January 16, 2015, Sens. Jerry Moran (R-KS) and Mark Warner (D-VA) introduced S. 181 (The Startup Act), which is meant to promote new business formation, especially in the information technology industry.

On August 18, 2014, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued an opinion sending website owners a clear warning that the onus is on them to put users on notice of the terms of use to which they wish to bind consumers.

In a decision filed on May 8, 2014, the California Court of Appeals held that patentable ideas, if kept secret, can constitute information protectable by trade secret law.

Bottega Veneta, one of the world’s premier fashion companies, recently won an important ruling regarding the scope of its trade dress rights at the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board of the US Patent and Trademark Office.