Category Archives: Defend Trade Secrets Act

Former MLB Pitcher Claims Astros Stole More than Hand Signals in Runup to 2017 World Series

Former MLB pitcher Mike Bolsinger has come up with a novel legal strategy as he (literally) relitigates his shoddy third-of-an-inning performance against the Astros in their runup to the 2017 World Series. The journeyman pitcher gave up four runs and … Continue reading

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As Date Nears for Google v. Uber Trade Secret Trial, Uber Insiders Describe Culture of Espionage and Secrecy

In the year since Google’s autonomous vehicle subsidiary Waymo first leveled allegations that Uber had poached star engineer Anthony Levandowski knowing that he was bringing a raft of stolen trade secrets with him, the contentious litigation has consistently revealed new … Continue reading

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U-Turn Ahead: Uber hits brakes over new hire’s refusal to help in trade secret defense

In a move that surprised no one watching the drama between Uber and Google’s Waymo self-driving vehicle division, Uber fired engineering whiz Anthony Levandowski on Tuesday. The company thought it scored a real coup last year in hiring Levandowski to … Continue reading

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Errant Email Steers Uber into Trade Secret Trouble

It’s too early to know the degree of vetting that occurred before Uber handed Anthony Levandowski nearly $700 million for his fledgling autonomous truck company named Otto and brought him aboard to lead Uber’s self-driving vehicle division. A high-profile trade … Continue reading

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President Not Alone in Cavalier Approach to Protecting the Digital Crown Jewels

President Not Alone in Cavalier Approach to Protecting the Digital Crown Jewels Continue reading

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Noteworthy Outcome in Early Test of Federal Trade Secrets Act

There’s a bigger story behind a Florida judge’s recent ruling in one of the first lawsuits brought under the new Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA). U.S. District Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga dismissed, at least temporarily, a lawsuit filed by an … Continue reading

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Who Says There’s No Crying in Baseball?

To those who shrug off cybertheft as a victimless crime that shouldn’t involve any real punishment, there’s a federal judge in Houston who just officially delivered a very different message on the subject. U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes sentenced former … Continue reading

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UPDATED: Trade Secret Proposal Has Won Over Congress & The President, But Not Me

Who says Congress can’t agree on anything these days? By an overwhelming vote of 410-2, the House recently approved the Defend Trade Secret Act (DTSA). The Senate already has passed the proposal and President Obama is expected to sign it … Continue reading

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Ex parte civil seizure is overkill in trade secret lawsuits

Congress is so polarized right now that it’s tempting to applaud anything that has bipartisan support. After all, if all those people who can’t stand each other can unite over something, it should be safe to assume that whatever brought them together has to be worth supporting, right?

In the case of the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016, I may have to be the skunk in the garden party. Of course, the intent of the act is a sound one: providing a federal civil cause of action for the theft of trade secrets and creating a uniform standard nationwide for protecting and enforcing those secrets. But one of the remedies – ex parte seizure of allegedly stolen assets – gives me pause. Continue reading

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