How do you, the cautious employer, protect yourself from trade secret theft? One way is through employment agreements. Many of the court cases involving employee theft of trade secrets include employment agreements with intellectual property terms. We believe that courts are more likely to conclude that the actions by a former employee are or will be a […]
Blog – Adam Garson Law
Trade secret owners have new Federal rights under the Defend Trade Secrets Act. But what about state law? Is state law still important for trade secret protection? You bet state law is still important. Trade secret owners have the same state trade secret rights that they had before the DTSA. Whenever a trade secret owner […]
Ask Dr. Copyright … DTSA Immunization
June 6, 2016
Ask Dr. Copyright
Dear Doc: When I joined MegaCorp, I was “asked” (well, told, actually) to sign a nondisclosure agreement that limits what I can do with any trade secrets I may learn while doing my job. That agreement says that I can’t tell a single, solitary soul, and that if I do, MegaCorp will, I guess, […]
On May 11, 2016, President Obama signed the Defend Trade Secrets Act (“DTSA” or “Act”). The bill was largely uncontroversial (imagine that), passing the Senate by an 87-0 vote and the House by a 410-2 vote. The DTSA is an important piece of legislation. It is so important that we have decided to focus our […]
The Functional Design Patent
May 15, 2016
Patent
If you have patents or have been involved in patenting, then you have heard about the difference between design and utility patents. The explanation probably went something like this: A utility patent protects how a thing does what it does. A design patent protects the appearance of the thing. And: A design patent cannot […]
Dear Doc: I know that this is not a copyright question, but I have heard that trade secrets are about to get a lot more important. What’s up? Signed, Johnny Rivers Dear Johnny: You hear right. On April 27, 2016, by a vote of 410-2, the US House of Representatives passed the Defend Trade Secrets […]
Dear Doc: I’m an aspiring musician. I write the songs that make the whole world sing. Lately, it seems that I’m having to work much harder to become an overnight success. After all, I write the songs that make the young girls cry. Can you help? Signed, Mandy Dear Mandy: Woof! Wooof, grrrr. Woof! (But […]
Supreme Court Dabbles in Patent Law, Again
April 11, 2016
Litigation, Patent
The first general rule is that whenever the Supreme Court accepts a patent case, it will reverse the lower court decision and change the law. The second general rule is that whenever the Supreme Court decides a patent case the law is left in worse shape than it was before. This time, the Supremes have […]
Words, War, Film, and the First Amendment
April 4, 2016
Uncategorized
When lawyers and lay people talk about “intellectual property” (IP) they are usually referring to patents, trademarks, copyright, and trade secrets. But IP may consist of other rights including the “right of publicity.” The right of publicity refers to those rights related to control of the commercial use of one’s identity typically consisting of a […]
Posting Images on Flickr: Is it Publication?
April 1, 2016
Copyright
During a recent presentation on copyright law to the Lehigh Valley Photography Club, several members expressed an interest in knowing whether posting images to a photo sharing site such as Flickr.com was “publication” for purposes of copyright registration. I expressed my opinion that it is publication. I thought it would be useful to take a […]