Trade Secrets & Restrictive Covenants: 2024 Recap, 2025 Outlook (Fairly Competing, Episode 27)
In this episode, recorded on January 3, 2025, John, Ben, and Russell take a look back on some of the more significant developments in trade secret and restrictive covenant law in 2024, and try to give some insight into what to expect in 2025. We discuss the FTC’s noncompete ban, extraterritoriality of the Defend Trade Secrets Act, damages in trade secret cases, legislative changes to state noncompete laws, noteworthy cases from various states and the Third Circuit, and other issues and predictions.
So, come join us on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Or, if you’re just looking for the feed, it’s here: Fairly Competing RSS feed.
Litigation Funding with Guest, Stephanie Southwick (Fairly Competing, Episode 26)
Trade secret litigation is expensive. But oftentimes trade secret owners do not have the resources to pay for litigation necessary to protect their rights.
Enter: litigation funding.
Litigation funding can level the playing field and provide the resources necessary for the trade secret owner to enforce its rights in its trade secrets.
Join John, Ben, and Russell as they talk with Stephanie Southwick of Law Finance Group about how litigation funding works, its pros and cons, and things to know if you or your client is considering funding.
So, come join us on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Or, if you’re just looking for the feed, it’s here: Fairly Competing RSS feed.
FTC’s noncompete ban is no more. Now what?
On April 23, 2024, the FTC adopted a rule to ban virtually all employee noncompetes. The rule was scheduled to go into effect on September 4, 2024. But 15 days before – on August 20, 2024 – the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas vacated the rule.
Companies and employees have a reprieve, but they should not let their guard down.
Join John, Ben, and Russell for a discussion of what happened, what to expect going forward, and what companies should do now to protect their trade secrets, confidential information, customer goodwill, and the integrity of their workforce.
Listen to us on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Or, if you’re just looking for the feed, it’s here: Fairly Competing RSS feed.
FTC to ban noncompetes: What you need to know
On April 23, 2024, the FTC adopted a rule that bans virtually all employee noncompetes. The rule is scheduled to go into effect on September 4, 2024. If that happens, how will companies protect their trade secrets, confidential information, customer goodwill, and the integrity of their workforce?
Join John, Ben, and Russell for a discussion of what the FTC’s noncompete rule will do, when it will go into effect, legal challenges to the rule, and what companies can do to limit the impact of the new rule.
Listen to us on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Or, if you’re just looking for the feed, it’s here: Fairly Competing RSS feed.
Preparing for California’s newly expanded noncompete ban and anti-restrictive covenant laws (Episode 23)
On January 1, 2024, California will officially begin exporting its ban on noncompetes, nonsolicits, broad confidentiality agreements, and likely no-recruits to the rest of the country — whether the other states like it or not.
Here’s what happened: This fall (in September and October), California passed two laws that together will: (1) expand the scope of California’s already-sweeping ban on employee noncompetes and other restrictive covenants; (2) export California’s law nationwide to void contracts between non-California residents signed outside of California; (3) require companies to provide notice to their employees and certain former employees that their noncompetes are void; and (4) impose penalties for violations.
According to the legislation, “California’s public policy against restraint of trade law trumps other state laws . . . .”
In this episode, John, Ben, and Russell discuss California’s new laws, what the laws purport to do, and what companies can do to limit the impact of the new laws.
Listen to us on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Or, if you’re just looking for the feed, it’s here: Fairly Competing RSS feed.
And if you just can’t get enough, when you are finished listening to the podcast, here is a link to a brainstorming session on the new laws with over 40 of the leading trade secret / restrictive covenant / employee mobility lawyers from around the country: Responding to California’s New, Expanded, Anti Restrictive Covenant Laws.
(Episode 23)
Time to Amend the DTSA
In 2016, Congress passed the Defend Trade Secrets Act (the “DTSA”). The vote was unanimous in the Senate and 410:2 in the House. President Obama signed it on May 11, 2016.
Codified at 18 U.S.C. § 1836, et seq., the DTSA created a federal private right of action for trade secret owners to sue for the misappropriation of their secrets.
But, as John Marsh has pointed out, “the DTSA is far from perfect. Like the Uniform Trade Secrets Act on which it was based, the DTSA can be improved as trade secret law evolves.”
There are certainly plenty of people who engage in culpable, willful misappropriation of trade secrets. The DTSA was designed to address that.
But others get caught up in the DTSA’s enforcement mechanism far longer than they should be.
Many defendants (typically former employees) are either wrongfully accused of taking information that they did not take, or are accused of taking information that they did take, but that they had not intended to take or even realized they took. For example, employees often forget that they have company information on thumb drives they used for work, or in their email, or backed up on personal devices as part of routine computer or cellphone backups.
There are also plenty of employees who made a mistake of judgment and took information they should not have taken.
Many of the employees who have their former employer’s information will — at least once counsel is involved — promptly realize the error of they ways and cooperate with the trade secret owner to ensure that all information is returned and that all copies are permanently removed from their possession. Nevertheless, in many of those cases, the former employer continues to press the misappropriation claim, long after any potential material harm has been addressed.
Having represented many such defendants, John has identified two proposed amendments to the DTSA:
- (1) a “safe harbor” provision for penitent defendants who have agreed to an injunction and are cooperating in a litigation; and
- (2) a trade secret identification requirement similar to the Model Local Rule suggested by the Sedona Conference’s Trade Secrets Working Group.
Join John, Ben, and Russell as they discuss John’s suggested amendments – and their plans to try to make those a reality.
So, come join us on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Or, if you’re just looking for the feed, it’s here: Fairly Competing RSS feed.
Guest Starr Discusses The Research Behind the FTC’s Proposed Noncompete Ban (Fairly Competing, Episode 21)
The FTC’s proposed ban on noncompete agreements (and other “de facto” noncompetes) relies in large part of the research of University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business Professor Evan Starr — one of the leading scholars in the field.
Join John, Ben, and Russell as they talk with Professor Starr about the strengths and weakness of his research, key insights he has into other research in the field, and an important working paper of HEC Paris Professor Jessica Jeffers, The Impact of Restricting Labor Mobility on Corporate Investment and Entrepreneurship.
So, come join us on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Or, if you’re just looking for the feed, it’s here: Fairly Competing RSS feed.
Exploring the FTC’s Proposed Ban on Noncompetes (Fairly Competing, Episode 20)
The FTC just proposed a ban on noncompetes with virtually no exceptions. And, they have placed nondisclosure agreements and other restrictive covenants squarely in the crosshairs.
Join John, Ben, and Russell as they take a look at the FTC’s proposed ban on noncompetes, how we got here, what the proposed rule would do and when, the potential practical and legal problems with it, the opportunity to provide comments to the FTC about it, what employers should do in the interim to protect their trade secrets and customer goodwill, and predictions on where this all goes.
So, come join us on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Or, if you’re just looking for the feed, it’s here: Fairly Competing RSS feed.
2022 Year In Review (Fairly Competing, Episode 19)
Happy Holidays!
Join John, Ben, and Russell as they take a look back on some of the more significant developments in trade secret and restrictive covenant law from the past year and what to be expecting in the coming year. They discuss recent criminal prosecutions for use of no-poach agreements, legislative changes to state noncompete and nonsolicitation laws, federal regulatory and legislative efforts to limit or ban noncompetes, eye-popping trade secret damage awards, and developing trends in the way trade secret cases are being handled and tried.
So, come join us on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Or, if you’re just looking for the feed, it’s here: Fairly Competing RSS feed.
Catching up with AIPLA Presidents and Executive Director about Trade Secrets (Fairly Competing, Episode 18)
For the American Intellectual Property Law Association’s 125th Anniversary, John and Russell (both former chairs of the AIPLA Trade Secret Law Committee) and Ben (the current chair) went on the road to talk to the current AIPLA President, Brian Batzli, immediate past-President, Patrick Coyne, and Executive Director, Vince Garlock, at this year’s AIPLA Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. We caught up about their experience with the AIPLA and the AIPLA’s Trade Secret Law Committee, and the importance of trade secret law more generally and its place with other forms of intellectual property. Enjoy the conversation!
So, come join us on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Or, if you’re just looking for the feed, it’s here: Fairly Competing RSS feed.
Don’t go too far when investigating trade secret misappropriation by an employee (Fairly Competing, Episode 17)
When an employee leaves for a competitor, it’s not uncommon for the former employer to investigate whether the employee took information on the way out the door. But, a recent case from the Georgia Court of Appeals, Patel v. Duke Hospitality LLC, highlights some limits on what the former employer can do.
As Ben discusses in a recent article about the case, “Employers often assume they are empowered to exercise broad discretion when investigating employee computer misconduct, especially when employees are suspected of using company emails or computers to engage in the misconduct. However, employers should be aware of potential liability that could arise from their digital investigations and monitoring of employee computer and email use.”
In this episode, John, Ben, and Russell discuss how the teachings of the Patel v. Duke Hospitality LLC case affect what employers can and cannot do when they suspect misappropriation by a departing employee.
So, come join us on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Or, if you’re just looking for the feed, it’s here: Fairly Competing RSS feed.
The Key to Seeking and Defending Against Temporary Restraining Orders (Fairly Competing, Episode 16)
Temporary retraining orders (called, “TROs”) are a staple of trade secret and restrictive covenant litigation. In this episode, John, Ben, and Russell discuss what you need to know when you are either seeking or defending against a TRO in a trade secret or noncompete case.
So, come join us on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Or, if you’re just looking for the feed, it’s here: Fairly Competing RSS feed.
Fairly Competing, Episode 15: Cease and Desist Letters
In this episode, John, Ben, and Russell discuss what to do when you receive a cease and desist letter, including how to prepare for it and how to respond to it.
So, come join us on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Or, if you’re just looking for the feed, it’s here: Fairly Competing RSS feed.
Fairly Competing, Episode 14: Irreparable Harm in Trade Secret Cases
In this episode, John, Ben, and Russell discuss the requirement of irreparable harm for injunctive relief in trade secret disputes through a discussion with special guest Vicki Cundiff, one of the true deans of the trade secret bar.
So, come join us on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Or, if you’re just looking for the feed, it’s here: Fairly Competing RSS feed.
Fairly Competing, Episode 13: Year in Review
In this episode, John, Ben, and Russell take a look back on some of the more significant developments in trade secret and restrictive covenant law over the past year, and try to give some insight into what to expect in the coming year.
So, come join us on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Or, if you’re just looking for the feed to load into your reader, it’s here: Fairly Competing RSS feed.
Fairly Competing, Episode 12: Wisk Aero LLC v. Archer Aviation Inc. (How to Avoid Dismissal and Get an Injunction in Trade Secret Cases)
In this episode, John, Ben, and Russell explore an important, extremely well-reasoned, recent decision by U.S. District Court Judge William Orrick in Wisk Aero LLC v. Archer Aviation Inc.
The case offers an object lesson about preliminary injunctions in trade secret cases, highlighting that it’s no longer safe to assume you will get a preliminary injunction simply because a former employee downloaded 5,000 documents — even if he invokes the 5th Amendment… well, at least in California — and, as we discuss, probably beyond California too. But, good news: Your case probably won’t be dismissed. We explain all of this through an examination of the decision, why the court came out as it did, what it signals, and what we can learn from it.
So, come join us on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Or, if you’re just looking for the feed to load into your reader, it’s here: Fairly Competing RSS feed.
Fairly Competing, Episode 11: Mediating Trade Secret Disputes
In this episode, John, Ben, and Russell explore the ins and outs of mediating trade secret disputes through a discussion with special guest James Pooley, one of the true deans of the trade secret bar.
So, come join us on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Or, if you’re just looking for the feed, it’s here: Fairly Competing RSS feed.
Fairly Competing, Episode 10: The Supreme Court’s Decision in Van Buren v. U.S. (Computer Fraud and Abuse Act)
In this episode, John, Ben, and Russell explore the Supreme Court’s decision in Van Buren v. U.S., narrowly interpreting the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1030 — and what it means for protecting proprietary electronic materials.
So, come join us on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Or, if you’re just looking for the feed, it’s here: Fairly Competing RSS feed.
Fairly Competing, Episode 9: Litigating Trade Secret Cases Generally and Post-COVID (Part 2 – Civility)
This episode continues our discussion about litigating trade secret cases generally and post-COVID, this time with a focus on the reasons for the lack of civility in trade secret and restrictive covenant cases — and what to do about it.
So, come join us on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Or, if you’re just looking for the feed, it’s here: Fairly Competing RSS feed.
Fairly Competing, Episode 8: Litigating Trade Secret Cases Generally and Post-COVID
This episode covers litigating trade secret cases — including expedited discovery, depositions, protective orders, and hearings on motions for temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctions — generally and post-COVID.
So, come join us on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Or, if you’re just looking for the feed, it’s here: Fairly Competing RSS feed.
Fairly Competing, Episode 8: Litigating Trade Secret Cases Generally and Post-COVID
Fairly Competing 