Intellectual Property Law

Documents "Filed Under Seal" in Eaton Aerospace Trade Secrets Case in Mississippi

Posted on December 28, 2009
We've been following this intrigue-filled trade secrets lawsuit pending in Mississippi and the non-trade secrets elements of it: http://wombletradesecrets.blogspot.com/2009/07/judge-from-eaton-aerospace-trade.html.Seems there are a lot of "sealed" documents being filed in this case that is currently on hold while the court permits the defendants to discover and file evidence regarding Eaton's allegedly improper use of a local Mississippi attorney, Ed Peters, in the case...

Sanctions Issued in California Trade Secrets Case - Against A Party and its Attorneys

Posted on December 23, 2009
Law.com is reporting that a special master has ordered sanctions against Applied Materials Inc. and attorneys at Boston-based Goodwin Procter for stalling in releasing an e-mail by the company's chief executive.Special master Thomas Denver, in the U.S...

Credit Suisse Accuses Former Vice President, Departed For Nine Years, Of Trade Secret Theft and Attempting to Patent Certain Proprietary Methodologies

Posted on December 22, 2009
Attached above you'll find a link to the recently filed complaint in federal court in Manhattan that alleges a former VP of Credit Suisse, who was severed in 2000 and received a substantial separation package, has misappropriated certain trade secrets related to an equities valuation model that Credit Suisse says it developed with the former employees assistance...

China Detaining U.S. Citizen on Alleged Theft of "Commercial Secrets"

Posted on December 17, 2009
ABCNews.com is reporting that the Chinese police have detained an American automotive engineer for more than a year on accusations he misused trade secrets ? the latest case of vague secrecy laws being used against an American in China.Hu's wife, a China-born naturalized American like her husband, said Tianjin authorities' real target is a China-based company she managed and whose cutting-edge products competed with those of the former business partner, the Hysci (Tianjin) Specialty Materials Co...

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After $36 Million Jury Verdict and Contentious Battle, Former Adversaries Hansen Medical and Luna Innovations Form a Partnership

Posted on December 15, 2009
We reported about the $36 million jury verdict in this trade secrets case here: http://wombletradesecrets.blogspot.com/2009/07/36-million-trade-secret-verdict-loser.html. Well, VirginiaBusiness.com is reporting that Hansen and Luna have settled their ongoing dispute on the following terms: (a) a $5 million promissory note, (b) a block of Luna?s stock, and (c)agreements that will provide its fiber-optic technology to Hansen...

Reed Construction Data Sues McGraw-Hill Construction Dodge For Trade Secret Theft

Posted on December 14, 2009
BusinessWeek is reporting that Reed Construction Data, a construction information provider, has amended a federal lawsuit against McGraw-Hill Construction Dodge, raising new claims of unlawful misappropriation of trade secrets.The original lawsuit, filed Oct...

Trade Secrets of . . . Shoe Design: Crocs Gets Sued in Trade Secrets Case

Posted on December 09, 2009
OregonLive.com is reporting that Crocs is being sued Columbia Sportswear for allegedly misappropriating Columbia's trade secrets received from a former Columbia employee.In a filing in Multnomah County Circuit Court, Washington County-based Columbia accused the Colorado-based company of misappropriating trade secrets, intentional contract interference and aiding and abetting breach of duty of loyalty...

The Prodigal Son-In-Law: Trade Secrets Theft Damages Issue Submitted to Florida Jury in Weird Family Legal Battle

Posted on December 08, 2009
TCPalm.com is reporting that a decade-old legal battle launched by members of a once-close Palm City, Florida family torn apart by million-dollar financial disputes, arson and industrial espionage is back in court with a new jury seated Monday to pick up where a 2004 jury left off...

Former Quicken Employee Indicted for Allegedly Stealing Trade Secrets

Posted on December 04, 2009
A Michigan man stole computer secrets from his former employer, Quicken Loans Inc., according to a grand jury indictment unsealed Thursday in Detroit.Michael Hummel, 35, is charged with wire fraud and theft of trade secrets and faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted of the most serious charge, wire fraud...

Former Home Depot Executive Gets Nailed By the Trade Secrets Hammer

Posted on December 03, 2009
The Atlanta Business Chronicle is reporting that former Home Depot executive Guillermo Martinez of Cumming, Ga., pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal district court to stealing trade secrets from the home improvement retailer.Martinez was Home Depot?s senior manager of product engineering, responsible for helping company vendors prep to sell products to the company...

Court Refuses to Give the Hook to The Nook - Preliminary Injunction Denied in E-Reader Trade Secrets Case

Posted on December 02, 2009
We first identified this Barnes & Noble "Nook" case here: http://wombletradesecrets.blogspot.com/2009/11/spring-design-says-to-barnes-nobles.html.You'll recall that Spring Design has sued Barnes & Noble and the lawsuit asserts Barnes & Noble misappropriated Spring Design's trade secrets and violated the parties' non-disclosure agreement when it copied Spring Design's features into its recently announced Nook e-book...

Starwood Hotels and Hilton Hotels Talk Settlement in High Profile Trade Secrets Case

Posted on November 30, 2009
We first reported about this case here: http://wombletradesecrets.blogspot.com/2009/04/starwood-hotels-v-hilton-hotels-trade.html. Nielsen Business Media is reporting that the parties are talking settlement. After Starwood filed the suit last spring, Hilton suspended development of its Denizen hotel brand and placed the two former Starwood Luxury Brands Group executives accused of stealing trade secrets on paid administrative leave...

High-End Photography Companies Settle Trade Secrets Suit in Las Vegas

Posted on November 25, 2009
We first reported about this case here: http://wombletradesecrets.blogspot.com/2009/09/say-cheese-photography-studios-in.html. Well, the Las Vegas Sun is reporting that this matter has settled.Peter Lik USA charged in the lawsuit that Scottland, a former Peter Lik employee, had violated his noncompete agreement by soliciting the business of Peter Lik customers on behalf of The Lough Road...

Alleged Ford Motor Trade Secret Thief Jailed While Awaiting Trial

Posted on November 24, 2009
The Detroit Free Press is reporting that U.S. District Judge Gerald Rosen has ordered that a former Ford product engineer remain jailed while he awaits trial on charges of stealing documents from the Dearborn automaker.Xiang Dong Yu, also known as Mike Yu, 47, of Beijing, was indicted last month on federal charges of theft of trade secrets, attempted theft of trade secrets and unauthorized access to a protected computer...

More China Trade Secrets Cases in the Pipeline

Posted on November 24, 2009
On the heels of the failed prosecution of the two Chinese engineers in the NetLogic trade secrets case, Mark Albertson, writing in the SF Technology Examiner, takes notice of the apparent ? but not necessarily politically correct ? fact that in trade secrets cases in Silicon Valley ?the trail always seems to lead to China...

Third Party Litigation Financing Funds Delve Into Trade Secrets Matter

Posted on November 23, 2009
We thought this an interesting topic for you to consider - funding of trade secrets litigation by investors unrelated to the firms or the parties involved in the litigation. MarketWatch is reporting that U.K. commercial dispute investor Burford Capital on Monday announced its first two investments since an initial public offering on the Alternative Investment Market in London last month...

Idaho Health and Home Products Company Sues Former Employees For Trade Secret Theft - And Ubiquitous News Stories Abound Regarding Longevity Payments

Posted on November 20, 2009
The Associated Press is reporting that an Idaho health and home products company Melaleuca Inc. accuses a Utah company of raiding some of its top sales staff, infringing on company trade secrets and competing unfairly.Idaho Falls-based Melaleuca filed a lawsuit in federal court Monday against Max International, its top sales executive and dozens of former Melaleuca sales executives...

Hedge Fund Withdraws Trade Secret Summons After Concluding its "Evidence" Was Too Shaky to Proceed

Posted on November 17, 2009
The AmLaw Litigation Daily is reporting that Amaranth Advisors LLC, the energy trading hedge fund that lost almost $7 billion in 2006 trading in natural gas, has withdrawn its trade secret misappropriation lawsuit summons against Touradji Capital Management, another You can see the summons here: http://amlawdaily...

IMAX Claims Former Partner, Cinemark, Stole The Trade Secrets of the IMAX Theater Experience

Posted on November 16, 2009
Courthouse News Service is reporting that IMAX claims its former partner Cinemark defrauded it and stole trade secrets by trying to "reproduce" IMAX's "multiplex movie theaters across the Americas." It claims Cinemark used the secrets to create "Extreme Digital" or XD theaters to provide a "bootleg version of the IMAX Experience...

TSMC v. SMIC Trade Secrets Case Settles: $200 Million Plus Plus Goes to TSMC and SMIC CEO To Resign

Posted on November 10, 2009
LegalPad, a law blog out in California, is reporting that the massive TSMC v. SMIC has settled.SMIC has agreed to pay TSMC $200 million and an undisclosed amount of stock and warrants, Keker & Van Nest partner Jeff Chanin acknowledged. Chanin and his firm represented TSMC in the matter...

The Trade Secrets of Insanity: Guy Claims Sarah Jessica Parker Stole iPod Trade Secrets From Him and Then Transferred Them to Apple

Posted on November 09, 2009
Not all trade secrets lawsuits are alike. The one we're going to tell you about here is like no other we've reviewed.Seems Franz Wakefield thinks he got screwed. He claims he invented the iPod in 1983, but had the design stolen from him by "Sex in the City" star Sarah Jessica Parker, who then sold it to Steve Jobs in a terribly concerning progression of corporate espionage...

TSMC v. SMIC Trial Continues - See CVN Video Links of Opening, Witness Examination and Verdict

Posted on November 06, 2009
We've been following progress in the massive TSMC v. SMIC trade secrets trial going on in California, see here: http://wombletradesecrets.blogspot.com/2009/11/tsmc-wins-major-trade-secrets-verdict.html. You'll recall that the jury has already found that SMIC had improperly "acquired, used or disclosed" the TMSC trade secrets and violated the 2005 agreement between the companies and that an attorney for TSMC said its expert witness on damages put the requested amount in the range of "ten figures," or $1 billion...

TSMC Wins Major Trade Secrets Verdict Against SMIC - Damage Award Not Yet Declared

Posted on November 04, 2009
The Wall Street Journal is reporting the jury in Oakland ruled Tuesday in favor of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. in a long-running legal battle against rival Chinese chip maker Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp., which TSMC had accused of stealing trade secrets and violating a prior settlement between the companies...

Spring Design Says to Barnes & Noble's Nook E-Reader: "You've Got Our Chocolate in Your Peanut Butter!"

Posted on November 03, 2009
Reuters is reporting that Silicon Valley start-up company Spring Design has sued Barnes & Noble and the lawsuit asserts Barnes & Noble misappropriated trade secrets and violated the parties' non-disclosure agreement when it copied Alex's features into its recently announced Nook e-book...

Well-Dressed Attorneys Make Closing Arguments in TSMC v. SMIC Trade Secrets Trial

Posted on October 30, 2009
We've been following this TSMC v. SMIC trade secrets trial going on out in Oakland, see here: http://wombletradesecrets.blogspot.com/2009/10/semiconductor-international-has.html. The parties have now made their closing arguments, and Law.com has an interesting report regarding those arguments...

Citing Need to Protect Certain Trade Secrets, Iowa Judge Agrees to Close Courtroom For Some Testimony and Evidence in Consumer Fraud Trial

Posted on October 29, 2009
The Des Moines Register is reporting that a Polk County, Iowa judge agreed Tuesday to close his courtroom for parts of a consumer fraud trial brought against a Connecticut-based company by the State of Iowa, ruling that certain testimony and evidence could expose the trade secrets of a company accused of illegal sales tactics...

Connecticut Mortgage Broker Loses Staff in 2004 and Lawsuit in 2009

Posted on October 28, 2009
CNNMoney.com has an interesting piece about a small mortgage brokerage company that claims to have had 33% of its employees "raided" by another company. Those employees then allegedly worked within 2 miles of their former employer and ate its proverbial lunch...

Federal Economic Espionage Trial Employs Unique Evidence Presentation Technique

Posted on October 27, 2009
Johnny Carson used to employ an expression "I did not know that!" for instances where he was surprised by the claim or admission of a guest.We admit surprise and will acknowledge "we did not know that!" with regard to a report by Law.com that the criminal trial judge is permitting a unique evidence presentation technique for the NetLogic trade secrets theft trial currently underway in California...

Defendant in Silicon Valley Economic Espionage Act Trial Blames His Own Wife for Investigation and Prosecution

Posted on October 23, 2009
Yesterday we covered opening arguments made by the prosecution in this important economic espionage prosecution. Today we copy you on Law.com's report of the defenses' opening - and this is pretty good.Had Silicon Valley engineer Yuefei Ge spent more time listening to his wife, the government's economic espionage case against him would never have been born, his defense lawyer told a federal jury Wednesday...

Federal Prosecutor Calls Two Engineers "Traitors to NetLogic" In Opening Statements to the Jury in Rare Economic Espionage Prosecution

Posted on October 22, 2009
We want to thank the San Jose Mercury News and ComputerWorld for publishing courtroom accounts of this rare Economic Espionage Act prosecution of Lan Lee and Yuefei Ge. Calling Lee and Ge "traitors" to NetLogic, Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Parrella told the jury that the case was about stealing cutting-edge chip designs to set up a company that was backed by a Chinese venture capital program and China's military...

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