Mealey's Trade Secret : Mealey's : Legal News & Analysis

Mealey's Trade Secret

January 03, 2023
Copyright, Trademark Claims Over Fudge Recipe Tossed In Pennsylvania

PITTSBURGH — A federal magistrate judge in Pennsylvania ruled that although copyright and trademark infringement allegations by a fudge maker against his former wife fail, genuine issues of material fact preclude summary judgment on the question of whether reasonable measures were taken to protect a disputed fudge recipe.
January 03, 2023
In Michigan Federal Trademark Row, Judge Allows Gibson Counterclaims

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — An answer by Gibson Brands Inc. that added counterclaims of trade secret misappropriation is permissible, a federal judge in Michigan ruled, because an amended complaint in the parties’ dispute over guitar designs added allegations of state and federal antitrust law.
November 29, 2022
1st Circuit Reverses Ruling In CGL Insurer’s Favor In Trade Secrets Coverage Suit

BOSTON — The First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals reversed a lower federal court grant of summary judgment in favor of a commercial general liability insurer in an insured’s lawsuit seeking coverage for its defense of an underlying trade secrets lawsuit brought by a competitor, finding that the underlying complaint “fairly sketches a defamation claim” to trigger coverage.
November 11, 2022
Plaintiff Has Standing For Patent, Not Copyright, Claims In Texas

HOUSTON — A federal judge in Texas on Nov. 10 ruled that two plaintiffs are entitled to a preliminary injunction on their patent infringement and trade secret misappropriation claims but that their copyright infringement claims fail for lack of standing.
November 10, 2022
Scrubs Maker Wants To Pursue UCL Claim Against Rival After Jury Awards No Damages

LOS ANGELES — A medical apparel company that was awarded no damages by a jury after suing a rival company for allegedly taking its confidential data and using false marketing claims to net roughly $35 million in scrubs sales says in a status report that it wants a new trial and to continue pursuing its claim for violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL).
November 04, 2022
Judge Denies Summary Judgment In Nicotine Pouch Makers’ Trade Secrets Dispute

LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge denied a motion for summary judgment filed in a trade secrets dispute between Swedish and American companies involved in manufacturing and selling nicotine pouches, concluding that the claims are not time-barred and that material facts in dispute preclude summary judgment.
October 17, 2022
Dismissal With Prejudice Stipulated In Insurer’s Unfair Competition Cases

NEW YORK — In identical Oct. 14 filings, the parties in related cases in which a New York federal judge previously concluded that an insurer’s “unauthorized use” of a rival’s financial data and business strategy for limiting large losses helped it secure a “competitively significant reinsurance contract” stipulated to dismissal of the cases with prejudice and without costs.
July 29, 2022
Judge Dissolves Writ Of Garnishment Against E&O Insurer In Trade Secret Dispute

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A federal judge in Florida held on July 28 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, dissolving a writ of garnishment brought against the insurer to collect on the judgment.
May 06, 2022
Judge Confirms $3M Award Against Chinese Company In Lightbulb Trade Secrets Row

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A North Carolina federal judge on May 4 granted a business’s petition to confirm an arbitral award worth more than $3 million against a Chinese LED light bulb manufacturer and its U.S. subsidiary despite new evidence showing that the tribunal calculated damages partly based on hypothetical lost royalties under a contract with a nonparty that was terminated before arbitration.
March 31, 2022
Preliminary Injunction Motion Partly Granted In Insurer’s Unfair Competition Cases

NEW YORK — Ruling on motions in related cases that allege misappropriation of confidential information and unfair competition, a New York federal judge on March 24 concluded in a memorandum order that an insurer’s “unauthorized use” of a rival’s financial data and business strategy for limiting large losses helped it secure a “competitively significant reinsurance contract.”
February 22, 2022
Judge Says UCL Claim In Stem Cell Case ‘Displaced’ By Trade Secrets Claim

SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge on Feb. 21 dismissed a U.S. stem cell company’s counterclaim for violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) in a pending suit against a Canadian company and its affiliates because it was “displaced” by the company’s sufficiently pleaded state law claim for misappropriation of trade secrets.
February 10, 2022
6th Circuit Reverses Summary Judgment For Employer In Age Discrimination Claim

CINCINNATI — A former employee alleging age discrimination when his employer failed to hire him for a remote position satisfied the burden to show that there is enough evidence to create a dispute regarding age discrimination, a split Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held Jan. 24, reversing a district court’s grant of summary judgment to the former employer.
January 31, 2022
Editor’s Note

The journalists and staff of Mealey’s Litigation Reports are saddened by the passing of co-founder Michael P. Mealey. He was a respected member of the newsletter community, being named publisher of the year by the National Newsletter Association and president of the National Newsletter Association. Mike and Judy Mealey started Mealey Publications Inc. in 1984. As president, Mike grew the Mealey’s Litigation Report portfolio, introduced email news bulletins and electronic CD formats and launched a continuing legal education conference business. Mealey’s was sold to LexisNexis in 2000. We hope to carry on his journalistic curiosity and integrity in the titles we continue to publish today under his name.
November 11, 2021
Statutory Damages, Fees Unavailable In California Federal Copyright Row

SAN DIEGO — A federal judge in California on Nov. 9 granted several defendants summary judgment on a request by a virtual prototyping software company for statutory damages and attorney fees in connection with a claim for copyright infringement.
October 25, 2021
6th Circuit Won’t Rehear Chinese CEO And Company’s Bid To Compel Arbitration

CINCINNATI — The Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Oct. 15 denied the petition of a Chinese CEO and his medical device company for rehearing en banc of their appeal seeking to stay an Ohio company’s trade secrets claims against them pending arbitration in China with the CEO’s other company.
September 27, 2021
Chinese CEO And Company Petition 6th Circuit To Rehear Bid To Compel Arbitration

CINCINNATI — A Chinese CEO and his medical device company on Sept. 24 petitioned the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals for rehearing en banc of their bid to stay an Ohio company’s trade secrets claims against them pending arbitration in China with the CEO’s other company, writing that the panel misapplied the test for equitable estoppel in arbitration contracts.
August 30, 2021
Split 6th Circuit Panel Says Chinese Nonsignatory Can’t Compel Arbitration

CINCINNATI — A Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals majority on Aug. 27 affirmed a district court’s denial of a Chinese CEO and his medical device company’s motion to stay an Ohio company’s trade secrets claims against them pending arbitration in China with the CEO’s other company and remanded the CEO’s agency argument to the district court, while a dissenting judge said the majority’s opinion is a “rewrite” of “pro-arbitration state laws.”
July 20, 2021
In Rhode Island Patent, Trade Secret Case, Scope Of Retrial Established

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — A federal judge in Rhode Island on July 16 clarified that a planned retrial on allegations of trade secret misappropriation will be limited to an algorithm for converting photometric measurements; in the same ruling, the judge rejected a bid by a defendant to recoup the attorney fees it incurred in successfully defending allegations of patent infringement.
June 08, 2021
Judge: GDPR Does Not Bar Discovery Of French Materials In POS Trade Secrets Row

BOSTON — The French version of the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) does not prevent a point of sale (POS) technology firm and a production partner from seeking discovery of important documents from a French rival in a dispute over trade secrets and patents, a Massachusetts federal judge ruled June 3, granting the plaintiffs’ motion to reconsider a previous ruling that had ordered discovery only from two domestic plaintiffs.
May 10, 2021
Trade Secret Claims Over Unpublished Patent Application Tossed By Panel

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a longstanding dispute over hair treatment products, the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on May 6 ordered a new trial on patent infringement and damages and reversed a denial of judgment as a matter of law (JMOL) that L'Oréal USA Inc. misappropriated trade secrets.
April 09, 2021
Missouri Panel Partly Reverses Ruling In Coverage Suit Over Competitor’s Claims

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Missouri appeals panel on April 6 partly reversed a lower court’s ruling in a commercial general liability insurance coverage dispute arising from an underlying dispute between competitors in the lumber industry, finding that the insureds’ second amended complaint supported claims for bad faith failure to defend and failure to settle.
March 31, 2021
Protective Order Issued In Software Developer’s Trade Secret Suit Against Insurer

LAS VEGAS — A federal magistrate judge in Nevada on March 26 signed a stipulated protective order in a software provider’s lawsuit alleging that an insurer and another software provider misappropriated its trade secrets to develop a clone of its flood claims services system application.
March 16, 2021
Software Firm Sues Dutch Counterpart For Trademark, Copyright, Contract Violations

BREVARD, N.C. — An anti-phishing software firm filed suit in North Carolina federal court on March 12 against a Dutch company that had been its business partner, asserting trademark and copyright infringement related to computer source code that it says was used to develop new products and that the plaintiff claims belong to it .
March 16, 2021
Federal Circuit Upholds Order Unsealing Amended Patent Complaint

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a March 15 ruling, the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said it found no abuse of discretion in a Florida federal judge’s decision to unseal an amended complaint accusing a competitor of infringing a patented veterinary orthopedic implant.
February 18, 2021
Expert Testimony Limited In Trade Secret Violations Case Involving Ex-Employees

BALTIMORE — Expert testimony in a trade secret dispute will be limited, a Maryland federal judge ruled Feb. 8, finding that much of the proposed testimony of one expert constitutes inadmissible legal conclusions, with the rebuttal witness’s testimony largely rendered moot, and that challenges to another expert are best resolved through cross-examination.