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Mealey's Trade Secret

August 29, 2019
Defendants’ Bid To Transfer Trade Secret Suit To Texas Federal Court Denied

OPELIKA, Ala. — A federal judge in Alabama on Aug. 27 ruled that a transfer of venue in a breach of contract and trade secret misappropriation lawsuit is not necessary because defendants have failed to show that a transfer to a Texas federal court would be of convenience to the parties and witnesses and be in the interest of justice (Ham-Let USA Inc. v. Barbara Guthrie, et al., No. 18-679, M.D. Ala., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXS 145305).
August 28, 2019
Former Google Engineer Indicted On Trade Secret Theft Charges

SAN FRANCISCO — In an indictment unsealed Aug. 26, a California grand jury charged a former Google Inc. engineer with stealing the company’s trade secrets for its self-driving car technology and using those trade secrets to form a competing company that was subsequently purchased by Uber Technologies Inc. (United States v. Anthony Scott Levandowski, No. 19-cr-377, N.D. Calif.).
August 23, 2019
Panel: Court’s Summary Judgment Ruling On Trade Secrets Counterclaim Proper

DALLAS — A Texas state appellate panel on Aug. 13 ruled that a state trial court did not err in granting summary judgment in favor of a plaintiff on defendants’ counterclaims for, among other things, trade secret misappropriation because the defendants failed to show that a genuine issue of material fact exists on the challenged elements of their trade secret misappropriation claim (Kenneth W. Morrison, et al. v. John D. Profanchik Sr., No. 05-17-01281-CV, Texas App., 5th Dist., 2019 Tex. App. LEXIS 7089).
August 23, 2019
Review Of Sanctions Award In Trade Secrets Suit Not Warranted, Respondents Argue

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Supreme Court review of a federal circuit court’s ruling upholding the issuance of a punitive sua sponte terminating sanctions order (TSO) in a trade secret misappropriation lawsuit is not warranted because no “factual or legal grounds” for review exist, respondents argue in an Aug. 12 opposition brief filed in the Supreme Court (Loop AI Labs Inc., et al. v. Anna Gatti, et al., No. 19-59, U.S. Sup.).
August 23, 2019
Energy Company Seeks Declaration That It Did Not Misappropriate Trade Secrets

NEW YORK — A company that addresses energy distribution infrastructure deficiencies in developing markets and others sued investors in New York federal court on Aug. 13, seeking declaration that they did not misappropriate trade secrets under state and federal trade secrets law (Latchable Inc., et al. v. Ben Steiner, et al., No. 19-7575, S.D. N.Y.).
August 22, 2019
Judge Issues Preliminary Injunction In Trade Secret Misappropriation Suit

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge in California on Aug. 21 ruled that a preliminary injunction in a trade secret misappropriation lawsuit is warranted to “maintain the status quo” because the plaintiff in the action has sufficiently shown that certain of its former employees and the competing company they started misappropriated the plaintiff’s trade secrets and that their continued misrepresentation will harm the company (Pacific Netsoft Inc. v. SkillSource Learning Partners LLC, et al., No. 19-3808, N.D. Calif., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 142329).
August 22, 2019
Magistrate Judge: Injunction In Trade Secrets Suit Should Be Dissolved

CINCINNATI — A federal magistrate judge in Ohio on Aug. 20 recommended that a federal district court dissolve a previously agreed-upon preliminary injunction in a trade secret misappropriation lawsuit because the plaintiff has failed to provide sufficient evidence in support of its state and federal trade secret misappropriation claims (PPS Service Group LLC v. Adam Eckert, et al., No. 18-727, S.D. Ohio, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 140599).
August 21, 2019
Delaware Federal Judge Enters $49.9 Million Judgment Against L’Oreal

WILMINGTON, Del. — On the heels of an Aug. 12 jury verdict, a federal judge in Delaware on Aug. 20 entered a judgment against defendant L’Oreal USA Inc., ordering the cosmetics and hair care company to pay nearly $50 million in damages for patent infringement and trade secret misappropriation (Liqwd Inc., et al. v. L’Oreal USA Inc., No. 17-14, D. Del.).
August 20, 2019
Fulfillment, Marketing Firm Sues Competitor For Trade Secret Misappropriation

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A full-service fulfillment and marketing firm sued its competitor in Florida federal court on Aug. 16, alleging that the defendant collaborated with a former client of the plaintiff to misappropriate its trade secrets so that the defendant may replicate the plaintiff’s proprietary and password-protected software in violation of state and federal trade secret law (J.M. Field Marketing Inc. v. Propago LLC, No. 19-62063, S.D. Fla.).
August 20, 2019
JELD-WEN Barred From Bringing State Court Action In Trade Secrets Lawsuit

RICHMOND, Va. — A federal judge in Virginia on Aug. 16 enjoined a defendant in an antitrust and trade secret misappropriation lawsuit from bringing a related action in Texas state court, ruling that the defendant’s claims are barred under the relitigation exception to the Anti-Injunction Act because they are virtually the same claims that were brought in the federal court action (Steves & Sons Inc. v. JELD-WEN Inc., No. 16-0545, E.D. Va., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 139818).
August 19, 2019
Trade Secret Law Claims Trimmed In Company’s Suit Against Former Employees

OKLAHOMA CITY — Although an above-ground storage tank manufacturer has sufficiently identified trade secrets that two of its former employers are alleged to have misappropriated and that the company took reasonable steps to maintain the secrecy of those trade secrets, the plaintiff has failed to sufficiently show that the trade secrets derived any independent economic value, a federal judge in Oklahoma ruled Aug. 16 in dismissing the manufacturer’s state and federal trade secret law claims (ATS Group LLC v. Legacy Tank and Industrial Services LLC, et al., No. 18-944, W.D. Okla., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 138657).
August 15, 2019
Summary Judgment Rulings In Trade Secret, Patent Dispute Affirmed

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel on Aug. 14 ruled that a federal district court did not err in dismissing a plaintiff’s trade secret misappropriation and unjust enrichment claims as time-barred pursuant to Ohio’s uniform trade secret law because the plaintiff failed to bring the claim within the necessary statute of limitations period (Josef Maatuk v. Emerson Electric Inc., et al., No. 19-1615, Fed. Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 24142).
August 14, 2019
Trade Secret Suit Plaintiff’s Request To Proceed In Forma Pauperis Denied

ATLANTA — An 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals judge on Aug. 12 denied a plaintiff’s motion to proceed in forma pauperis in a trade secret misappropriation and breach of contract lawsuit, ruling that the plaintiff’s appeal is frivolous (Albert N. Heichberger v. Tracey Baerman, et al., No. 19-12055, 11th Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 24005).
August 13, 2019
Defendants In BladeRoom Trade Secrets Dispute Appeal Rulings To 9th Circuit

SAN FRANCISCO — Defendants in a trade secret misappropriation lawsuit brought by BladeRoom Group Limited (BRG) and its United Kingdom (UK) parent company each filed notices of appeal in California federal court on Aug. 12, the same day that a federal judge in California issued a judgment ordering the defendants to pay more than $77 million in damages and prejudgment interest (BladeRoom Group Limited, et al. v. Emerson Electric Co., et al., No. 15-1370, N.D. Calif.).
August 09, 2019
Confidentiality Agreement Breached; Trade Secrets May Be Involved, Judge Says

HOUSTON — A federal judge in Texas on Aug. 6 ruled that a software company’s former employee breached a confidentiality agreement related to material used in hydraulic fracturing simulation applications that may contain trade secrets. However, the judge said the scope of the breach must be determined at trial (M-I LLC v. Q’Max Solutions Inc., et al., No. 18-1099, S.D. Texas, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 131275).
August 07, 2019
Fracking Company, Former Employees Settle Trade Secrets Case For $1.6M

DENVER — A federal judge in Colorado on Aug. 5 approved a consent order that settled a trade secret violation case between a hydraulic fracturing company and its former employees as the company agreed to pay $1,625,000 in unpaid compensation and the former employees agreed not to use the information they took (Wolf Resources LLC v. Cody Derner, et al., No. 19-515, D. Colo., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 130043).
August 01, 2019
State, Federal Trade Secret Claims Survive Dismissal Bid

MINNEAPOLIS — A federal judge in Minnesota on July 24 ruled that a creator of hemostatic products has sufficiently pleaded that its competitor misappropriated its trade secret information in a patent application for a new product in violation of state and federal trade secret laws after receiving the information during acquisition discussions in violation of a nondisclosure agreement (NDA) (Protégé Biomedical LLC v. Z-Medica LLC, No. 18-3227, D. Minn., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 122986).
August 01, 2019
Court Determines That Korean Court Is Proper Forum For Trade Secret Suit

AUSTIN, Texas — Ruling that the Republic of Korea is an “adequate and available forum” for a trade secret misappropriation lawsuit against a Korean company and individual, a federal judge in Texas on July 29 granted a defendants’ motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction (Primacy Engineering Inc. v. SAN Engineering, et al., No. 18-129, W.D. Texas, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 125646).
July 31, 2019
Trade Secret, Other Claims In DNC Hacking Barred Under 1st Amendment

NEW YORK — A federal judge in New York on July 30 ruled that the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibits the Democratic National Committee (DNC) from holding members of President Donald Trump’s family, his presidential campaign and certain of its members, Wikileaks and others liable as second-level participants in the dissemination of confidential and trade secret materials stolen by the Russian Federation in a massive hacking campaign leading up to the 2016 presidential election (Democratic National Committee v. The Russian Federation, et al., No. 18-3501, S.D. N.Y., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 126888).
July 31, 2019
Huawei Argues No Attorney Fee Award Warranted In Trade Secret Suit

SHERMAN, Texas — A defendant in a trade secret misappropriation lawsuit brought by Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. and its subsidiary is not entitled to an award of attorney fees and costs because a federal judge in Texas entered a take-nothing judgment for both sides and, thus, the defendant was not a prevailing party, the plaintiffs argue in a July 26 opposition brief filed in Texas federal court (Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., et al. v. Yiren Ronnie Huang, et al., No. 17-0893, E.D. Texas).
July 26, 2019
Former Schwab Employee Sued For Misappropriation Of Company’s Trade Secrets

NEW ORLEANS — Charles Schwab & Co. Inc. sued a former employee in Louisiana federal court on July 24, seeking a preliminary injunction preventing the defendant from continuing to misappropriate its trade secret customer information and to “preserve the status quo ante” pending arbitration before a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration panel (Charles Schwab & Co. Inc. v. Alfredo J. Martinez, No. 19-11831, E.D. La.).
July 24, 2019
Trade Secrets Dispute Transferred To Alabama Federal Court

TRENTON, N.J. — A federal judge in New Jersey on July 19 ruled that transferring a trade secret misappropriation and breach of contract lawsuit to Alabama federal court is necessary because both public and private factors weigh in favor of transferring the trade secret claims pursuant to 28 U.S. Code Section 1404(a) (Eddie Kane Steel Products Inc. v. Alabama Plate Cutting Co. Inc., et al., No. 18-15167, D. N.J., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 121758).
July 23, 2019
Expert’s Methods To Fix Trade Secret Damages Proper, Judge Decides

SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge on July 19 declined to exclude opinions by an expert on damages in a trade secrets dispute between competing companies that operate online chat services after finding that the expert’s methods are reliable under Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals Inc. (LivePerson, Inc. v. [24]7.ai, Inc., No. 17-cv-01268, N.D. Calif., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 121005).
July 19, 2019
Mattel Hit With Trade Secret Misappropriation Suit Over TV Show Production

LOS ANGELES — A production company sued toymaker Mattel Inc. in California federal court on July 2, alleging that Mattel misappropriated the company’s trade secret information and stole its idea for a television show that the company was seeking to produce to produce a substantially similar show with another company (Herrick Production LLC v. Mattel Inc., et al., No. BC689290, Calif. Super., Los Angeles Co.).
July 19, 2019
No Showing Of Irreparable Harm Leads To Denial Of Preliminary Injunction

DENVER — A federal judge in Colorado on July 16 ruled that a developer of research and development (R&D) tax credit software has failed to sufficiently show that it will suffer irreparable harm if a preliminary injunction is not granted against its client and two of the client’s chief officers in a trade secret misappropriation lawsuit (Titan Manufacturing Solutions Inc. v. National Cost Inc., et al., No. 19-1749, D. Colo., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 118114).