AI tools such as Chat GPT and Otter are becoming common programs that employees use to help streamline business tasks. Otter, for example, is an AI Meeting Assistant that automatically transcribes and summarizes meetings in real time, records audio, captures slides, extracts action items, and generates content such as e-mails and status updates. While tools like Otter may provide quick answers or help synthesize a large volume of information, employers and employees alike should be mindful of the types of information fed to (and possibly stored in) AI programs. The use of an AI tool to, for ex ..read more

California has passed two new items of legislation, Senate Bill 699 and Assembly Bill 1076, which will further regulate and restrict the enforcement of employment non-compete agreements in California, and expand the scope of remedies for those affected by them. These new laws will become effective on January 1, 2024, and now is the time for employers to assess and revise their employment-related agreements and restrictive covenants accordingly. As detailed below, they also require employers to notify employees and certain former employees by February 15, 2024 that certain non-compete ..read more

On May 25, 2023, the Texas Legislature enacted the biggest structural change to the Texas court system in recent memory. House Bill 19 (“HB 19”)—signed by Governor Greg Abbott in June—creates a new “Business Court” system for the Lone Star State. HB 19’s passage comes after four previous legislative efforts to enact a business court system in Texas failed. Texas’s Business Courts will activate on September 1, 2024, and will handle complex commercial disputes with significant amounts in controversy. The purpose is to create an efficient, specialized court for complex, high-value commercial ..read more

On January 5, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced a broad proposed rule that would ban employers from imposing noncompete clauses on their workers. The FTC press release announcing the proposed rule states that noncompete clauses—which apply to about one in five American workers—suppress wages, hamper innovation, block entrepreneurs from starting new businesses and reduce American workers’ earnings between $250 billion and $296 billion per year.[1] The proposed rule would prohibit employers from: (1) entering into or attempting to enter into a noncompete with a worker; (2) mai ..read more

The recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit, Caudill Seed & Warehouse Co. v. Jarrow Formulas, Inc., illustrates the flexible approach taken by courts when considering the calculation of compensatory damages in trade secrets cases. No. 21-5345, 2022 WL 16846585 (6th Cir. Nov. 10, 2022) There, the Sixth Circuit affirmed a jury’s compensatory damages verdict which awarded the plaintiff its research and development costs for its misappropriated trade secret even though the underlying trade secret was not destroyed through disclosure or other means. Id. at *15. Caudill Seed ..read more

In a recent decision from the U.S. District Court for the District of Florida, a healthcare product manufacturer’s claim of trade secret misappropriation against a competitor and a customer was thrown out on summary judgement.  While the plaintiff showed that at least some defendants had access to the plaintiff’s alleged trade secret protected CBD cream formula and manufacturing process, the plaintiff failed to demonstrate that the defendants’ accused CBD cream product was manufactured using the alleged trade secret.  Healthcare Res. Mgmt. Grp., LLC v. Econatura All Healthy World, LL ..read more

In July 2021, President Biden signed an Executive Order directed at promoting competition in the U.S. economy.  As part of that overarching goal, the Biden Administration tasked the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) with curtailing the use of non-compete clauses “and other clauses or agreements that may unfairly limit worker mobility.”  While the FTC has only recently initiated informal proceedings on the issue, the agency – and perhaps Congress as well – seems poised to move forward in 2022 to address restrictive covenants. Part of the delay on any action by the FTC can likely be att ..read more

With tightening labor markets and the increasing mobility of healthcare workers, including physicians, now is a good time to revisit non-compete agreements to ensure they are enforceable.  Texas courts will generally enforce non-compete agreements as long as they are ancillary or part of an otherwise enforceable agreement and do not contain restraints greater than necessary to protect the employer’s legitimate interests.  These interests include business good will, trade secrets, or other confidential  and proprietary information. When the non-compete at issue pertains to a phys ..read more

A recent California Court of Appeals decision found nominal damages could be awarded for an employee’s breach of a non-disclosure agreement (“NDA”), even if no actual harm was done to the employer.  An award of nominal damages for breach of an NDA may be important for companies seeking to protect confidential information and trade secrets for two reasons: (1) this may give rise to an award of litigation costs, and (2) may also support a permanent injunction ruling preventing the former employee from any further possession or use of the protected information. Under California Civil Code se ..read more

No-hire or “no-poaching” agreements have recently come under increasing scrutiny by the federal government, as well as various state regimes.  However, a recent Ninth Circuit decision upholding a no-poach agreement highlights the various hurdles an antitrust claimant will face in bringing such a claim. In Fonseca v. Hewlett-Packard Company, Case No. 20-56161 (9th Cir. Oct. 14, 2021), the Ninth Circuit upheld the dismissal of a former Hewlett-Packard Company employee’s claims that the company hatched an unlawful no-poaching agreement with a competitor. The Court affirmed the August 2020 di ..read more