Continuing our series on electric vehicle (EV) trade secret litigation, see here and here, a California judge has tentatively given Tesla the green light to proceed with a trial against rival Rivian in March of 2025. This will pit two major players in the EV industry head-to-head in a
Trade Secrets
Litigating Trade Secrets in Biotech, Life Sciences, and AI: The High-Stakes Battle Over Clinical Trial Innovations
By Baldassare Vinti & Alyson Tocicki on
In the rapidly evolving biotech and life sciences sectors, the importance of trade secrets has grown significantly. Companies are investing heavily in research and development to create cutting-edge treatment therapies. Protecting proprietary methodologies and innovations is crucial for maintaining competitive advantage and fostering innovation. Moreover, the rise of artificial intelligence…
Trade Secret Complaint Fails Basic Requirements
On May 23, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania dismissed a trade secret misappropriation claim for failure to identify a trade secret. The case is titled Vertical Bridge REIT, LLC v. Everest Infrastructure Partners, Inc., Case No. 23-1017 (W.D. Pa. 2024).
Allegations. PlaintiffVertical Bridge…
EV Trade Secret Litigation Continues to Boom with Tesla Suing its Supplier Over EV Battery Technology Theft
By Baldassare Vinti & Elizabeth Shrieves on
The rise in trade secrets litigation in the electric vehicle (“EV”) sector continues with Tesla filing another lawsuit: this time against its own equipment supplier. On June 14, 2024, Tesla filed a complaint in the Northern District of California against Matthews International Corp. for trade secret misappropriation, along with breach…
The 8th Circuit Affirms a Preliminary Injunction Barring an Ex-Cigna Executive from Joining CVS Based on Two-Year Non-Compete Clause
By Margaret Ukwu & Joseph Drayton on
On January 26, 2023, Cigna Corp. (“Cigna”) sued CVS Health Corp. (“CVS”) and its newly hired chief product officer Amy Bricker (“Bricker”), in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, for allegedly violating her non-compete agreement with Cigna. The complaint was filed three (3) weeks after the…
The Critical Role of Trade Secrets in the Booming EV Industry
By Baldassare Vinti & Elizabeth Shrieves on
Electric car sales in 2023 were 3.5 million higher than in 2022, a 35% increase in one year. The rise in demand for electric vehicles (“EVs”) has prompted many companies to enter the EV battery space. Given the rapid development of, and technological advances required to, create new EVs, innovators…
Employee Mobility and Trade Secrets in the Golden Era of Life Sciences Innovation
By Joseph Drayton & Michelle M. Ovanesian on
The life sciences sector is in its “golden era” of innovation with the convergence of disciplines
—including genetics, immunology, cell biology, and artificial intelligence—changing the speed, efficiency, and cost at which innovation occurs.
With this era has come a fierce market for talent, resulting in the frequent movement of…
More Information Needed: Former Employee Dodges Trade Secrets Suit Brought by Interior Design Company
By Jonathan M. Weiss & L.D. Jones on
On May 1, 2024, in Design Gaps, Inc. v. Hall, 23CV040664-590, North Carolina’s business court dismissed an interior design company’s trade secret claim for failure to sufficiently plead the existence of trade secrets. The business court found that the “vague and conclusory” list of trade secrets that plaintiffs pled…
An Archetypical Trade Secrets Claim with a Twist: Tribal Sovereign May be Sued in Court for Alleged Theft of Trade Secrets Related To its Participation in SBA Program
By Christina H. Kroll & Jonathan M. Weiss on
AQuate II, LLC v. Jessica Tedrick Myers and Kituwah Global Gov’t Group, LLC, is, as all parties put it, about “an archetypical trade secrets claim,” but with a couple of twists: sovereign immunity and an agreement to resolve disputes in a forum that allegedly does not exist. See Aquate II…
Battery Technology Trade Secret Theft Runs Out of Juice
By Baldassare Vinti & Nicole O. Swanson on
A recent complaint alleging trade secret misappropriation in the Eastern District of New York demonstrates the importance of combing an alleged trade secret misappropriator’s social media for subtle – and not-so-subtle – evidence of their wrongdoing.
The United States has charged Klaus Pflugbeil and Yilong Shao with conspiring to convey…