Defend Trade Secrets in Federal Court – DTSA Anniversary

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In May 2016, the United States Congress enacted the Defend Trade Secrets Act (“DTSA”) taking steps to make a “federal case” out of an area of the law that has been the domain of state law since the founding of the Republic. Whether that decision was a good one or not is yet to be …Read more

Downloading Pirated Software Without Installing It is Still Copyright Infringement

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If your business creates software or simply uses it to perform work – let’s face it, what business doesn’t use software in one way or another – we encourage you to take note of a recent ruling made by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The case – Design Data Corp. v. …Read more

Avoiding Common Pitfalls When Hiring an Employee from a Competitor

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When you seek to hire new staff you may immediately see the benefit of hiring an employee from a competitor. After all, he or she may already have the skills or knowledge to “hit the ground running” in your company or even bring with her valuable relationships with potential customers or partners. As you can …Read more

How to Block Registration of a Troublesome Trademark with a Letter of Protest

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We are often contacted by clients who want to block registration of a competitor’s trademark because it’s too similar to their own. In some cases, the method we use to accomplish the client’s objective is to file a letter of protest with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“PTO”) on behalf of the client. These …Read more

How Agreements Help Avoid Conflict Among Business Partners

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Many business people fail to enter into appropriate ownership agreements that could protect them if the business fails, a partner dies, or the owners decide to part ways. Many entrepreneurs believe the legal fees and hassle needed to obtain properly drafted ownership agreements outweigh any potential benefits. When a new venture is launched, and money …Read more

Important Corporate Documents for a Successful Business Sale

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The last thing most founders think about when they start up a company is selling it. If one of the possible exit strategies is to sell your company, you should be thinking about the documentation you’ll need for a successful business sale from the very beginning. It may be years down the road but the …Read more

Using Phantom Stock in a Family-Owned Business to Attract Employees

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Like any business, a family-owned business has a strong incentive to attract, retain, motivate and reward key employees. A competitive salary and benefits package may not be enough to do this in today’s market. Many businesses offer equity incentive plans to employees as a form of long-term incentive compensation. For many family-owned businesses offering stock …Read more

Biggest Threat to Your Company’s Trade Secrets

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For many people, trade secret theft evokes images of an international technological superspy using complex cyber-tools to engage in corporate or national espionage in cyberspace to steal the crown jewels of company or country. In reality, the more common, less dramatic and yet more dangerous threat to a company’s proprietary information comes from within. Current …Read more

Protecting Your Trade Secrets Where State Law and Federal Defend Trade Secrets Act Meet

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When it comes to protecting your company’s trade secrets, one of the most important remedies you can secure is a court order preventing a former employee from making use of the trade secret for the benefit of a competitor. From your perspective, it’s impossible for an employee who received your company’s crucial business information to …Read more

Final Pay Rules When Employees Retire

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The California Supreme Court has held, in a case of first impression that the state’s final pay rules for retiring employees apply in the same manner as to employees who quit. This is an important clarification of California employment law. Background California has strict final pay rules when employment ends. Labor Code section 201 requires …Read more