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Mealey's Trade Secret

  • October 22, 2024

    Federal Judge Allows Experts For Both Sides To Testify In Trade Secrets Suit

    OMAHA, Neb. — A Nebraska federal judge largely denied three motions to exclude expert testimony filed in a trade secrets dispute stemming from a case filed by a transportation broker for agricultural products against former employees who left to join a competitor.

  • August 29, 2024

    5th Circuit: Judge Erred On Trade Secret Claims, But Not Copyright Claims

    NEW ORLEANS — A panel of the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held that a Louisiana federal judge was correct to issue a final judgment in favor of a plaintiff technology security company on copyright infringement claims it brought against a former distribution partner, but the panel also found that the judge was incorrect to issue a judgment in favor of the plaintiff on trade secrets claims.

  • August 05, 2024

    11th Circuit: Court Must Reconsider If Tech Company’s Full Code Is Copyrightable

    ATLANTA — A panel of the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held that a Florida federal magistrate judge failed to fully consider the copyrightability of the code of a company that makes a software comparing life insurance quotes in a case the company brought against competitors it said stole its trade secrets by taking portions of its database, ordering the judge to make a new finding of facts for the company’s copyright claim

  • August 02, 2024

    No E&O Coverage Exists For Trade Secret Judgment, 11th Circuit Affirms

    ATLANTA — The 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Aug. 1 held that no coverage exists under a “Sponsored Insurance Agents Errors and Omissions Liability” insurance policy for a $552,677.61 judgment for misappropriation of trade secrets, affirming a lower federal court summary judgment in favor of the insurer in a writ of garnishment action seeking to collecting the judgment.

  • August 02, 2024

    Panel Remands In $2B Jury Verdict Appeal Over Software’s ‘Stolen’ Trade Secrets

    RICHMOND, Va. — A Virginia appellate court reversed a lower court’s judgment and remanded for a new trial after a jury awarded $2,036,860,045 to Appian Corp., a software company offering business process management (BPM) software that sued BPM competitor Pegasystems Inc., alleging that Pega engaged in corporate espionage to steal Appian’s trade secrets, finding that because the lower court “committed a series of errors,” the judgment must be reversed.

  • July 29, 2024

    Judge: Trade Secret Claims Against TikTok In Copyright Case Adequately Established

    SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge on July 26 denied a request from TikTok Inc. and affiliated entities to compel a China-based company to state with particularity its trade secret source code it says TikTok infringes upon, saying the company included the trade secrets in its complaint with the requisite particularity; the judge’s order was issued days after a previous order in which the judge dismissed a false advertising claim against TikTok with prejudice.

  • July 25, 2024

    Judge Denies Fees In Copyright, Trade Secret Dispute Between Bronx Music Schools

    NEW YORK — A New York federal judge denied a request by a music school and its founder for reimbursement of the attorney fees they incurred in successfully defending allegations of copyright infringement, unfair competition and trade secret misappropriation, overruling objections from the school and its founder that a federal magistrate judge erred in recommending that the motion be denied.

  • July 23, 2024

    9th Circuit: DMCA Does Not Preclude Forum Non Conveniens Dismissal

    SAN FRANCISCO — A panel of the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on July 22 upheld a Washington federal judge’s decision to dismiss copyright and trade secret claims between two South Korean video game companies, agreeing with the judge that the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) does not preclude forum non conveniens as a reason for dismissal.

  • July 01, 2024

    COMMENTARY: Non-Competes No More? What Businesses Should Do To Protect Trade Secrets And Confidential Information Now

    By Geri Haight and Danielle Bereznay

  • July 03, 2024

    7th Circuit: Lower Court Must Reconsider Copyright Damages In Trade Secrets Suit

    CHICAGO — A panel of the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on July 2 held that an Illinois federal judge incorrectly calculated damages against a mobile communications company for using stolen copyrighted code from another mobile communications company, with the panel finding that without specific proof that the code was stolen from an Illinois server, copyright damages should be lowered.

  • June 25, 2024

    CGL Insurer, Insured Settle And Dismiss Coverage Dispute Over Trade Secret Lawsuit

    BOSTON — A commercial general liability insurer and its insured filed stipulations of dismissal after advising a Massachusetts federal court that they have settled their dispute over defense costs for an underlying trade secret lawsuit brought against the insured by its competitor.

  • June 21, 2024

    $72M Judgment Entered Against Chinese Company For Source Code Misappropriation

    NEW YORK — A New York federal judge entered judgment worth more than $72 million against a Chinese company reflecting a confirmed arbitral award against it for misappropriating an American company’s source code and later breaching a settlement agreement under which it had agreed to let the American company review its code for further use of its trade secrets.

  • June 19, 2024

    Federal Circuit: Injunction Over Trade Secrets Was Not Given Proper Analysis

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal trial court abused its discretion in granting a preliminary injunction to a company that alleges that one of its competitors used trade secrets in developing an insulin patch because the trial court did not properly consider relevant factors such as the applicable statute of limitations and the proper definition of a trade secret, a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals found in reversing the trial court’s judgment.

  • June 12, 2024

    Panel Reinstates Trade Secret Liability Verdict, Affirms Denial Of Fees

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Allegations of patent infringement voluntarily dismissed midtrial and copyright infringement on the eve of trial were not so devoid of merit as to justify an award of attorney fees in favor of a defendant medical equipment company, the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed June 11.

  • June 07, 2024

    Judge Confirms $72M Award Against Chinese Company For Source Code Misappropriation

    NEW YORK — A New York federal judge confirmed an arbitral award worth more than $72 million against a Chinese company that was found by an arbitrator to have misappropriated an American company’s source code and later breached a settlement agreement under which it would allow the American company to review its code for any further use of its trade secrets.

  • May 07, 2024

    Nebraska Federal Judge Agrees To Limit Testimony In Trade Secrets Dispute

    OMAHA, Neb. — A Nebraska federal judge rejected arguments from four former employees of an agricultural product distributor who are being sued for stealing trade secrets and confidential information when they resigned to work for a competitor that the company failed to properly disclose expert witnesses but agreed to limit their testimony.

  • May 06, 2024

    Defense Contract Secrets Claims Can’t Be Heard In Tribal Court As It May Not Exist

    ATLANTA — A trial court erred in applying the doctrine of forum non conveniens when dismissing breach of contract claims brought by a tribal corporation against a woman who allegedly stole trade secrets from her former employer relating to a federal contract to provide armed security services on a semi-submersible missile defense vessel because the alternative forum, the Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town Court, might not exist, an 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel found in reversing and remanding the trial court’s judgment.

  • April 26, 2024

    N.Y. Federal Magistrate Judge Recommends Fee Denial In Clash Between Music Schools

    NEW YORK — A request by a music school and its founder for reimbursement of the attorney fees they incurred in successfully defending allegations of copyright infringement, unfair competition and trade secret misappropriation should not be granted, a federal magistrate judge in New York has recommended.

  • April 24, 2024

    Copyright, Trademark, Trade Dress Case Against TikTok Will Largely Proceed

    SAN FRANCISCO — Although a motion to dismiss by TikTok Inc. was partly granted April 23, the copyright, trademark and trade dress claims by a China-based company can be repleaded in a fourth amended complaint (FAC), a federal judge in California ruled.

  • March 08, 2024

    Trade Secret Disclosed In Patent Is Public Knowledge, Interlocutory Appellant Says

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — In corrected opening and response briefs in an interlocutory appeal of a Massachusetts federal judge’s preliminary injunction, two makers of competing insulin patch pumps square off on several issues including whether purported trade secrets were made public in filings with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO).

  • February 05, 2024

    Judge: No Coverage Owed For Unfair Competition Suit Brought Against Insured

    SAN DIEGO — A federal judge in California concluded that an insurer has no duty to defend its furniture delivery company insured against an underlying misappropriation of trade secrets and unfair competition lawsuit brought by a competitor, granting the insurer’s motion for summary judgment in the insured’s breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit.

  • January 23, 2024

    Stipulation Ends Suit Over Alleged ‘Raid’ Of Facultative Reinsurance Brokerage

    CHICAGO — After all parties filed a stipulation of dismissal with prejudice, an Illinois federal judge terminated a breach of contract and Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) suit over an alleged “raid” of a facultative reinsurance brokerage.

  • December 08, 2023

    Judge Certifies Appeal Over Expert Testimony In Case About Fracking Data

    HOUSTON — A federal judge has issued an order certifying an interlocutory appeal of a ruling that denied a defendant’s motion to exclude a plaintiff’s witness regarding his testimony on reasonable royalty damages in a dispute over the disclosure of unlicensed seismic data to a third-party oil and gas operator.  The judge, who had concluded that the testimony is permitted as long as it complies with the requirements of Federal Rule of Evidence 701, certified the appeal, saying the matter presents “a controlling question of law” and the resolution of the issue would “materially advance the litigation.”

  • November 22, 2023

    Georgia Court Stays Release Of PFAS Settlement As DuPont Claims Trade Secrets

    ATLANTA — The Georgia Court of Appeals stayed an order by a trial court that called for the terms of a per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) settlement to be published and granted an emergency motion filed by E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. and its affiliates seeking to keep the terms of the agreement private on grounds that it contains trade secrets.

  • November 20, 2023

    Louisiana High Court Refuses To Review Ruling In Suit Alleging Insured Stole Files

    NEW ORLEANS — The Louisiana Supreme Court refused to disturb a Louisiana appeals court’s finding that a residential mortgage broker’s electronic loan files are “tangible” under state law and, therefore, can be defined as “‘property’ that is susceptible to ‘loss of use’” under a competitor’s business liability insurance policy, allowing to stand the lower court’s reversal of a summary judgment ruling in favor of an insurer that intervened in the broker’s lawsuit alleging that its insured used stolen files to broker mortgage loans for its customers.