A perennial issue in trade secret litigation is: what factual allegations must be pled regarding what trade secrets are left when there are related patents from the same company on the same technology.  The recent decision Safe Haven Wildlife Removal and Property Management Experts, LLC v. Meridian Wildlife Services LLC provides insight on this issue at the motion to dismiss phase. In this case, the court inferred differences between the alleged trade secrets and publicly-available patent based on the owner’s general allegations, stating there were differences and that the patent covered ..read more

The Ninth Circuit’s decision in Perrin Bernard Supowitz, LLC v. Morales continues to highlight the high bar necessary for a motion for preliminary injunction, the evidence required to establish irreparable harm, and the limited “abuse of discretion” standard that may be applied during any appeal.  Case No. 23-55189, 2023 WL 1415572 (9th Cir. Feb. 5, 2024). In Perrin, the Ninth Circuit found no abuse of discretion in the Central District of California’s decision to deny a preliminary injunction that Individual FoodService (“IFS”), a supplier of food service products, sought against two for ..read more

The legal battle between VANDA Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and the United States government provides guidance on the minimum requirements that the government must meet to protect trade secrets provided during the regulatory approval process for pharmaceuticals. The case, which involves alleged unlawful disclosure of trade secrets by government officials to generic drug competitors, presents several issues of first impression. VANDA did not assert a trade secret misappropriation claim, but rather asserted a Fifth Amendment takings claim. (VANDA’s breach of implied-in-fact contract claim was dism ..read more

The “Elf on a Shelf” has seen a lot from the outside.  Make sure the employment agreement prevents them from sharing within.  If elves are working remote, make sure they know not to download the gift-wrapping procedure from the Workshop shared drive to personal devices. Distribute the “Naughty or Nice” list on a need to know basis only. No photographs of the sleigh allowed.  Don’t forget about the NDAs with the reindeer handlers and flight navigators.  Revisit the Workshop’s plan to limit disclosure of confidential information if a human finds their way in.  Review th ..read more

Earlier this year the Federal Judicial Conference released its Trade Secret Case Management Judicial Guide.  That paper is over 400 pages but contains comprehensive insights for courts and litigants in the various stages of a trade secret case.  It is required reading for those practicing in the field. SSRN-id4360102.pdf ..read more

The Sedona Conference’s Trade Secret Working Group recently published an article titled “7 Ways To Approach The Difficulties Of Trade Secret Litigation”. Crowell’s Mark Klapow is a member of the working. Read more at: https://www.law360.com/articles/1559728/7-ways-to-approach-the-difficulties-of-trade-secret-litigation?copied=1 ..read more

Crowell & Moring is a proud sponsor of this year’s American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) Trade Secrets Summit, taking place December 8-9 in Miami, FL. Please join us for a panel discussion on “Best Practices for Trade Secret Identification in Litigation,” led by Crowell & Moring attorney Mark Klapow on Thursday, December 8 at 9:45 AM (ET). For more information about the 2022 AIPLA Trade Secret Law Summit and to register, please click here ..read more

A Central District of California court recently denied a defendant’s motion for summary judgment where the defendant argued that the plaintiff’s claims for trade secret misappropriation were barred by the applicable statute of limitations. The court determined that the statute of limitations did not bar the plaintiff’s claim because a reasonable jury could find that the plaintiff did not have reason to believe that all of the elements of its trade secret misappropriation claim were met prior to the bar date. In particular, the court concluded that a reasonable jury could find that the pla ..read more

The Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) was enacted in 2016. The DTSA allows an owner of a trade secret to sue in federal court when seeking relief for trade secret misappropriation related to a product or service in interstate or foreign commerce, and does not preempt any state law. A goal of the DTSA is to “provide a single, national standard for trade secret misappropriation with clear rules and predictability for everyone involved.” S. Rep. No. 114-220, at 14 (2016). For the majority of the time, this goal is upheld. Aside from establishing a relation to a product or servic ..read more

NBA star Zion Williamson has more to celebrate than his recently announced five-year maximum rookie contract extension with the New Orleans Pelicans, worth up to $239 million. Williamson was also victorious in a lawsuit he filed against his former agent Gina Ford, and her agency Prime Sports Marketing LLC (“Prime Sports”). The case is Williamson v. Prime Sports Marketing LLC et al. in the District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, No. 1:19-cv-00593. Williamson entered into a marketing agreement with Ford and Prime Sports when he was just a freshman at Duke University. He brought ..read more