Who knew the handcuff graphic would get so much use in 2023? And it’s only the beginning of February! Continue reading
Articles Posted in Trade Secrets
Join us at 1 PM ET today (1/9/23) on Zoom to discuss the FTC’s new proposed noncompete ban
On Thursday, the Federal Trade Commission proposed a new rule prohibiting employers from imposing noncompetes on their workers. I wrote about it on Friday and spent the weekend reading all 216 pages of the official “Non-Compete Clause Rule Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.” So, let’s discuss it on Zoom today.
The feds are coming for your company’s noncompete agreements, old and new. You need to read THIS!
Yesterday, the Federal Trade Commission proposed a new rule prohibiting employers from imposing noncompetes on their workers. Continue reading
Tighten up those non-competes!
I love to litigate employment disputes. And restrictive covenant cases are at or near the top of my list. They are fast-paced, usually well-lawyered on both sides, and lucrative. The primary goal of the dispute is to obtain a preliminary injunction — quickly — to stop someone from working. That means obtaining, organizing, and presenting an entire lawsuit worth of evidence in just months or weeks. Continue reading
Here’s another reason why enforcing a non-compete can be so darn expensive
I’ve litigated many battles between companies over trade secrets and non-competition and non-solicitation agreements. The tie that binds them all is that these cases are expensive to prosecute and defend. Continue reading
Jury awards $2,036,860,045 for misappropriation of trade secrets. Yes, over $2 billion!
Yesterday, a tech company announced that a Virginia jury had awarded it the biggest damages award in state court history. It was an employment case.
Hopefully, I have your attention. Continue reading
It’s 2022. Time for an employee handbook update. Start by adding the word “TikTok.”
A little over five years ago, TikTok, the social networking platform where users post videos ranging in length from 15 seconds to three minutes, was born. Now, I know that it’s hard to keep up with technology. But if your employee handbook doesn’t specifically reference TikTok — and I’m not just talking about your social media policy — then you, or your employees, or perhaps both, are looking for trouble.
Just ask a former flight attendant for a major airline. Continue reading
Yep, President Biden ordered the FTC to curtail private companies from using of non-competes.

Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
I warned — didn’t I? — you that President Biden was preparing to tell the Federal Trade Commission to either ban or curtail private employers from using non-competition agreements. Continue reading
Wait, WHAT?!? Is President Biden planning to ban private employers from using non-competes?

Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay
So much for my blog servers getting a much-needed Friday rest. Continue reading
What do adult toys and X-rays have to do with protecting trade secrets?

Image by Tayeb MEZAHDIA from Pixabay
I’ve been revising a lot of NDAs recently — not to be confused with N.W.A.s. Although, sometimes, I do listen to N.W.A. while updating nondisclosure agreements.
My curious legal listening habits notwithstanding, there is a practical employment law point I’d like to make here. And it involves sex toys.
Really, Eric?!?