A federal court in California has held that a state law claim that a competitor engaged in unfair competition by creating infringing work after hiring former employees who stole proprietary information is preempted by the federal Copyright Act. Metabyte, Inc. v. NVidia Corp., et al., Case No. 12-0044 SC (N.D. Cal. April 22, 2013. Metabyte employed individuals to develop … Continue Reading
Plaintiff pro se Linda Eagle, the former president of banking education company Edcomm, Inc. ended up empty handed even though she prevailed on the merits of her claims of invasion of privacy by misappropriation of identity in her federal lawsuit filed over the alleged hijacking of her LinkedIn account by her former employer following the termination of her employment. … Continue Reading
When an executive search firm bought the goodwill and other assets of a similar firm and learned that the individual sellers took client lists and diverted business in violation of their non-compete agreements, it terminated the sellers’ employment and sued them and other third-party defendants for violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”) as well … Continue Reading
North Dakota has one of the fastest-growing workforces in the country as the result of recent advances in extracting natural gas and oil. As more employers seek to hire in or transfer employees to the Peace Garden State, many are surprised to discover that North Dakota law prohibits non-compete agreements. North Dakota Century Code Section … Continue Reading
A U.S. District Judge in Connecticut recently issued an injunction against a former employee of Amphenol Corp and his new employer, TE Connectivity, Ltd, despite the lack of any evidence of competition in breach of his non-compete agreement. The decision in Amphenol v Paul, Civ. No. 3:12cv543 (D. Conn. Nov. 9, 2012), involved a former business unit director of Amphenol who had been … Continue Reading
The U.S. Department of Justice has filed an antitrust lawsuit against eBay, Inc. in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. The suit, filed on November 16, 2012, claims that eBay violated antitrust laws by entering into an agreement not to hire or recruit the employees of a competitor, Intuit, Inc. The … Continue Reading
Kevlar (R), a high-strength para-aramid fiber created by E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company and famously used in body armor for soldiers and police officers, is the subject of a recent criminal indictment by the U.S. Justice Department against Kolon Industries, Inc. and several of its executives. According to the October 18, 2012 press … Continue Reading
