Continuing our series on electric vehicle (EV) trade secret litigations, a federal judge has overturned a jury’s verdict awarding $71 million to Zunum Aero, Inc. for The Boeing Company’s violation of the Washington Trade Secrets Act. Despite the jury’s multi-million-dollar verdict, the judge granted judgment as a matter of law
trade secrets
EV Trade Secrets Litigation Series: Tesla v. Rivian – A High-Stakes Legal Showdown
Litigating Trade Secrets in Biotech, Life Sciences, and AI: The High-Stakes Battle Over Clinical Trial Innovations
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…
The Critical Role of Trade Secrets in the Booming EV Industry
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
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
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
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
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…
Federal Trade Commission Approves Final Rule Banning Most Noncompetes
On April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) voted 3-2 to issue a proposed final rule (“Final Rule”), which, absent a successful legal challenge, will ban most noncompete agreements in the United States.
Despite more than 26,000 comments from the public, the Final Rule does not narrow the rule…