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Mealey's Trade Secret

June 18, 2019
Judge: Company’s Unfair Competition Claim Against Apple Superseded By CUTSA

OAKLAND, Calif. — A federal judge in California on June 17 ruled that a technology company has failed to sufficiently show that Apple Inc. engaged in unfair competition under California common law when it allegedly infringed on the company’s patented technology and intellectual property to develop its “Emergency SOS” product for its Apple devices because the claim is preempted by federal patent law and is superseded by the California Uniform Trade Secrets Act (CUTSA) (Zomm LLC v. Apple Inc., No. 18-4969, N.D. Calif., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 101029).
June 17, 2019
Texas Supreme Court: Appeals Panel ‘Abused’ Discretion In Misappropriation Case

AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Supreme Court on June 14 conditionally granted a company’s petition for mandamus regarding a lawsuit against it for misappropriation of trade secrets, ruling that the appeals court “clearly abused its discretion” when it authorized a trial court to conduct proceedings in violation of a legislatively mandated stay (In re: Geomet Recycling LLC, et al., No. 18-0443, Texas Sup., 2019 Tex. LEXIS 578).
June 13, 2019
Judge: Chinese Woman Should Be Detained Prior To Trial For Theft Of Trade Secrets

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. — A federal judge in Tennessee on June 10 ruled that a Chinese woman indicted by the U.S. government for conspiracy to steal trade secrets should be retained until trial because she poses a flight risk (United States v. Xiaorong You, No. 10-CR-14, E.D. Tenn., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 96776).
June 12, 2019
Judge: Sufficiently Pleaded Trade Secrets Claim Bars Judgment On The Pleadings

ROCKFORD, Ill. — A federal judge in Illinois on June 10 ruled that a developer and manufacturer of dispensers and closures for use in the packaging of consumer goods has sufficiently alleged the existence of a trade secret, as well as misappropriation under the “inevitable disclosure” doctrine, in alleging that its former employee violated state and federal trade secret laws after accepting a similar position with a competitor (AptarGroup Inc. v. Brenda Chamulak, No. 18-50328, N.D. Ill., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 96903).
June 11, 2019
Judge: Lack Of Subject Matter Jurisdiction Dooms Company’s Trade Secrets Suit

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — A federal judge in Kansas on June 7 ruled that he lacks subject matter jurisdiction over a company’s amended complaint for breach of contract and trade secret misappropriation because the company failed to state any federal claim against its former employees and its state law claims do not “implicate a substantial question of federal law” (Edelman Financial Services LLC v. Erik Harpsoe, et al., No. 19-2026, D. Kan., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 95918).
June 10, 2019
Lithuanian Firm Sues Facebook, Princeton Over Virtual Reality Trade Secrets

SAN FRANCISCO — In a June 5 complaint in California federal court, a technology and research company in the Republic of Lithuania sued Facebook Inc. and Princeton University for purportedly misappropriating its trade secrets related to scene recognition technology and the area of virtual reality (UAB “Planner5D” v. Facebook Inc., et al., No. 3:19-cv-03132, N.D. Calif.).
June 07, 2019
State, Federal Trade Secret Law Claims Survive Dismissal Bid

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A federal judge in Virginia on June 4 ruled that a company sufficiently identified trade secrets that its minority owner and former president and director allegedly misappropriated, denying in part the defendant’s motion to dismiss state and federal trade secret law claims against him (Oros Inc. v. Jamal Dajani, No. 19-351, E.D. Va., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 93652).
June 07, 2019
Judge Denies Motion To Exclude Damages Opinions In Trade Secrets Dispute

SHERMAN, Texas — A Texas federal judge on June 6 allowed a damages expert’s opinions and reports in a trade secrets misappropriation lawsuit after finding that his methods of calculation are reliable (Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., et al. v. Yiren Ronnie Huang, et al., No. 17-0893, E.D. Texas, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 94702).
June 06, 2019
Preliminary Injunction Ruling In Trade Secret Dispute Upheld On Appeal

NEW YORK — A Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on June 5 ruled that a federal district court did not abuse its discretion in granting a preliminary injunction in a trade secret misappropriation lawsuit because the plaintiff has sufficiently shown that its former employees’ alleged trade secret misappropriation in creating a competing company would impair the company’s “good will and reputation” (ExpertConnect LLC v. Dipali Parmar, et al., No. 18-2261, 2nd Cir.).
June 05, 2019
DTSA Claim Against Defense Contractor Dismissed As Insufficiently Pleaded

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal judge in the District of Columbia on June 4 ruled that a defense contractor’s former employee failed to sufficiently plead his claim for trade secret misappropriation under the Defend Trade Secret Act (DTSA), agreeing with the defense contractor’s argument that his allegations are unsupported “legal conclusions” that are not actionable under the statute (Neil Zaccari v. Apprio Inc., No. 18-1560, D.C. Dist., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 92753).
June 03, 2019
Remedial Measures Over Deleted Emails Granted In Trade Secrets Dispute

DETROIT — A federal judge in Michigan on May 30 adopted an expert adviser’s report and recommendation filed by a company in a trade secret misappropriation and copyright infringement lawsuit, granting in part and denying in part the company’s request for spoliation sanctions and remedial measures based on a defendant’s destruction of a former employees’ emails during the course of the litigation (J.S.T. Corp. v. Robert Bosch LLC, et al., No. 15-13842, E.D. Mich., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 90431).
May 31, 2019
Review Of Appellate Court’s Discovery Ruling In Trade Secrets Dispute Sought

AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Supreme Court review of a state appellate panel’s rendering of judgment and denial of jurisdictional discovery in favor of a defendant on claims that it misappropriated an oil and gas exploration company’s trade secrets is necessary because the company is subject to jurisdiction in Texas, a petitioner argues in a May 28 petition for writ of certiorari filed in the state Supreme Court (Antero Resources Corp. v. EnerQuest Oil & Gas LLC, No. 19-0455, Texas Sup.).
May 30, 2019
Federal Judge Declines To Exercise Jurisdiction Over Trade Secret Claim

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — A federal judge in New York on May 28 declined to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over a medical and janitorial supply manufacturer’s trade secret misappropriation and other state law claims against its former vice president of sales and others after determining that the plaintiff failed to sufficiently plead its federal claim for violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (Dynarex Corp. v. Richard Farrah, et al., No. 18-7082, S.D. N.Y., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 89048).
May 29, 2019
Judge: Genuine Issues Of Fact Preclude Summary Judgment In Trade Secret Suit

DENVER — A federal judge in Colorado on May 24 ruled that genuine issues of material fact exist as to whether the Knights of Columbus (KC) misappropriated a web designer’s trade secrets for a web platform the designer developed for the nonprofit Catholic organization (List Interactive Ltd. v. Knights of Columbus, et al., No. 17-0210, D. Colo., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 88290).
May 23, 2019
DOJ Must Disclose T-Mobile Memorandum In Trade Secret Theft Suit Against Huawei

SEATTLE — A memorandum between the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and T-Mobile USA Inc., the alleged victim of trade secret theft by Huawei Device Co. Ltd., is discoverable in the government’s criminal trade secret lawsuit against the technology firm, a Washington federal judge ruled May 22, finding it to be nonprivileged and material to the claims against Huawei (United States v. Huawei Device Co. Ltd., et al., No. 2:19-cr-00010, W.D. Wash.; 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 86334).
May 23, 2019
Broker-Dealer Seeks Summary Judgment On State, Federal Trade Secrets Claims

LOS ANGELES — A designer and developer of an electronic system that tracks data for securities transactions has failed to plead its state and federal trade secret law claims with the required particularity in arguing that its former client misappropriated trade secrets for its securities trading tracking software, the defendant argues in a May 21 motion for summary judgment filed in California federal court (InteliClear LLC v. ETC Global Holdings Inc., No. 18-10342, C.D. Calif.).
May 23, 2019
Judge Declines To Transfer Venue, Dismiss In Trade Secret Dispute

COLUMBUS, Ohio — An Ohio federal judge on May 22 ruled that defendants in a trade secret misappropriation and breach of contract lawsuit have failed to cite any support for their argument that plaintiffs were required to plead facts supporting their venue argument with specificity, denying the defendants’ motion to dismiss for improper venue (The ITC Technology Team Inc., et al. v. SOMA PSS LLC, et al., No. 18-1679, S.D. Ohio, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 85875).
May 23, 2019
Drink Maker Sues Competitor Over Alleged Theft Of Trade Secrets

NEWARK, N.J. — A manufacturer and distributor of retailer brand beverages and its parent company sued their direct competitor in New Jersey federal court on May 14, alleging that the competitor stole their trade secrets to create a new beverage for its client in violation of New Jersey’s trade secret law (Refresco Beverages US Inc., et al. v. Symrise Inc., No. 19-12509, D. N.J.).
May 23, 2019
Energy Drink Maker Sues Former Director Over Alleged Trade Secret Theft

WILMINGTON, Del. — An energy drink maker sued its co-founder and former director, as well as his new company, in Delaware state court on May 7, alleging that the former director misappropriated the company’s trade secrets for its new energy drink product and breached his fiduciary duty to the company (Outlaw Beverage Inc. v. Lance Collins, et al., No. 2019-0342, Del. Chanc., New Castle Co.).
May 23, 2019
New Trial Sought In Company’s Trade Secret Suit Against Competitor

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — A defendant in a misappropriation of trade secrets lawsuit brought by an Italian company against its former employee and its competitor asked a federal judge in Rhode Island on May 17 to grant it a new trial after a jury awarded the plaintiff $6.5 million in damages after finding that the defendants misappropriated certain of its trade secret information for its erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) analyzer technology (Alifax Holding SpA v. Alcor Scientific Inc., et al., No. 14-440, D. R.I.).
May 22, 2019
Judge Affirms Discovery Ruling In Trade Secret Misappropriation Suit

SAN DIEGO — A federal magistrate judge did not err in finding that a plaintiff in a trade secret misappropriation lawsuit against its competitor in the compact garden hose manufacturing industry correctly applied Delaware’s reasonable particularity rule in determining that the plaintiff had sufficiently identified the trade secrets it alleges were misappropriated with the necessary particularity, a federal judge in California ruled May 20 (Yeiser Research & Development LLC v. Teknor Apex Co., No. 17-1290, S.D. Calif., 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 141969).
May 17, 2019
Former GE Employee Agrees To Plea Deal In Trade Secret Theft Suit

ALBANY, N.Y. — A former General Electric Co. (GE) employee agreed to plead guilty to a single count of conspiracy to steal trade secrets on May 15 on claims that he and another former GE employee conspired to steal certain GE trade secrets used in the calibration of turbines the company designed, manufactured and sold, and misappropriated them in founding a competing company, according to a plea agreement filed in New York federal court (United States of America v. Jean Patrice Delia, et al., No. 18-cr-338, N.D. N.Y.).
May 17, 2019
Summary Judgment Ruling In Trade Secret Suit Against PepsiCo Affirmed On Appeal

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on May 16 ruled that a federal district court did not err in granting summary judgment in favor of PepsiCo Inc. and several of its affiliates on claims that they misappropriated another company’s aroma release technology trade secrets in developing their own in-house technology for failure to plead the necessary causation and damages required to sustain their breach of contract and trade secret misappropriation claims (ScentSational Technologies LLC v. PepsiCo Inc., et al., No. 2018-2091, Fed. Cir. 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 14477).
May 16, 2019
BladeRoom Seeks More Than $24.5M In Attorney Fees, Costs In Trade Secrets Suit

SAN FRANCISCO — BladeRoom Group Limited (BRG) and its United Kingdom (UK) parent company asked a federal judge in California on May 13 to grant its request for more than $21.5 million in attorney fees and more than $2.9 million in costs incurred in prosecuting its long-running trade secret misappropriation lawsuit, according to a motion filed in California federal court (BladeRoom Group Limited, et al. v. Emerson Electric Co., et al., No. 15-1370, N.D. Calif.).
May 16, 2019
Judge Holds Trade Secret, UCL Claims Could Succeed, Grants Injunction

SAN DIEGO — After holding that internet lead generation companies will likely succeed on the merits of their claims for misappropriation of trade secrets and violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL), a California federal judge on May 13 granted their request for a preliminary injunction enjoining competitors from using their trade secrets (Zeetogroup, LLC, et al. v. Nicholas Fiorentino, et al., No. 19-CV-458, S.D. Calif., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 80648).