While the current Trump Administration has based its global trade war on trade imbalances stemming from unfair trade practices of foreign countries, its weapon of choice—increased tariffs—is designed to encourage businesses to relocate manufacturing operations to the U.S., thereby boosting American employment and industrial capacity. The U.S. Trade Representative’s 2025 Special 301 Report, issued on … Continue Reading
In Insulet Corporation v. EOFlow Co., Ltd. et al., after a month-long jury trial, a federal court in Boston dropped the hammer on an insulin patch pump producer for misappropriating the trade secrets of its competitor. The jury found that EOFlow, a South Korean company, its U.S. subsidiary, and several individual defendants, including former employees … Continue Reading
The recent Federal Circuit decision in AMS-OSRAM USA Inc. v. Renesas Electronics America, Inc. offers valuable lessons related to failed merger attempts, specifically the vast exposure that can result from a party breaching its confidentiality obligations. This protracted case—lasting more than 15 years and involving multiple trials and appeals—also highlights important principles about trade secret … Continue Reading
The Supreme Court’s decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo has and will continue to alter the legality and enforceability of federal agency rules and regulations related to ambiguous federal statutes. As a reminder, Loper Bright abolished the Chevron doctrine, which instructed courts to give deference to federal agency interpretations of ambiguous statutes. In Loper Bright, the Supreme … Continue Reading
In the UK, intellectual property (IP) infringement claims and other disputes in which IP is a major concern can be brought in either the High Court or in many cases the specialist Intellectual Property Enterprise Court (IPEC). Based at the Rolls Building in central London, the IPEC has a more streamlined procedure than the High … Continue Reading
Our colleagues at Employment Law World recently blogged about a recent trade secrets decision from the Northern District of California, Apple v. Rivos. The case involved a common fact pattern: numerous employees were hired away from Apple by Rivos and Apple brought claims for trade secret misappropriation (among others). The court dismissed the claims against … Continue Reading
In Waterdrop Microdrink GmbH v. Qingdao Ecopure Filter Co., Ltd., the District Court for the Central District of California denied a motion to compel compliance with a subpoena relating to a Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB”) proceeding, because the subpoena was never signed by the Clerk of the Court — despite the fact that … Continue Reading
While the enforcement of non-compete clauses (“noncompetes”) varies in jurisdictions across the country, California has a longstanding history of disfavoring them and championing a pro-employee-mobility work environment. Two laws were recently passed – Assembly Bill 1076 and Senate Bill 699 – expanding the scope of California’s prohibition on noncompetes and exposing companies to a heightened … Continue Reading
Back in 2020, the famous Chinese brew company Tsingtao Beer filed an administrative complaint for trademark infringement against a smaller Chinese competitor for the use of recycled Tsingtao beer bottles. The smaller brewery was filling legitimately recycled Tsingtao bottles with their own beer. The recycled bottles did not bear the Tsingtao labels and marks, which … Continue Reading
We are delighted to share a recent journal article by our China IP expert, Paolo Beconcini, as published in the Review of Intellectual Property Law (RIPL). In this article, Dr. Beconcini provides a thorough and well-documented review of recent changes in China’s regulations on trade secret protection and enforcement. Many of these changes were made in … Continue Reading
US company Celgard, LLC has secured an interim injunction against its rival, Chinese company Shenzhen Senior Technology Material Co Ltd (“Senior”), that prevents Senior from importing or supplying its battery accessory products into the UK. The Court found there was a likelihood that Senior had misused Celgard’s confidential information and trade secrets, and that the … Continue Reading
With no known vaccine and high infection rates, countries all over the world continue to take precautions to protect their citizens from Covid-19 by issuing “Stay-at-Home” Orders that prevent residents from leaving their homes except for essential tasks. Homes have transformed from private retreats to offices for one or more working household members, classrooms, and … Continue Reading
After deliberating less than three hours, a jury in the Northern District of Illinois recently awarded Motorola Solutions over $700 million in damages for a civil claim arising under the Defend Trade Secrets Act (“DTSA”). Motorola Sols., Inc. v. Hytera Commc’ns Corp., Ltd., No. 1:17-cv-1973, ECF No. 834 (N.D. Ill. Jan. 31, 2020). Most remarkable … Continue Reading
Recent cases of trademark theft involving Chinese employees of US companies and China’s ever rampant phenomenon of trademark squatting have emerged as very critical areas of dispute between China and several Western countries. On April 23, 2019, two new sets of regulations were adopted by China’s State Council addressing these concerns. Both introduce more effective … Continue Reading
The UK Trade Secrets Regulations which came into effect earlier this month for the first time provide a statutory definition of a “trade secret.” The definition is narrower than the existing standard and focuses more on whether the information has been kept secret rather than its inherently secret nature. This new requirement puts the onus … Continue Reading
In August 2017, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer initiated an investigation to determine whether the acts, policies, and practices of the Chinese Government related to technology transfer, intellectual property and innovation are unreasonable or discriminatory and either burden or restrict US commerce under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended (19 U.S.C. … Continue Reading
On Friday, December 15, 2017, the US Department of Justice and Department of State announced the launch of an IP Law Enforcement Coordinator Network. The Network focuses on international trademark counterfeiting, copyright piracy and other forms of intellectual property rights infringement across the world, spanning all industry sectors. Though the components of the Network are … Continue Reading
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)’s Post-Prosecution Pilot (P3) Program, launched on July 11, 2016, was terminated on January 12, 2017, just 6 months after it began. In general, the P3 Program combined the benefits of a Pre-Appeal Brief Request for Review and the After Final Consideration Pilot 2.0 program (AFCP 2.0), and included … Continue Reading
The USITC’s investigation in Certain Carbon and Alloy Steel Products, Inv. No. 337-TA-1002 was instituted to investigate alleged violations of Section 337 by the Chinese steel industry based on claims of trade secret misappropriation, false designation of origin, and (atypically for a 337 proceeding) antitrust violations. While the first two claims are proceeding to trial, the … Continue Reading
The EU Trade Secrets Directive came into force on 5 July 2016 and must be implemented in EU member states by 9 June 2018. Via this link, read a summary of what this means for UK businesses, together with a more detailed analysis of the Directive and suggested steps to prepare for its introduction. The impact … Continue Reading
We invite you to attend a webinar – The Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016: Leveraging the New Federal Framework to Protect IP – co-presented by Steve Auvil of Squire Patton Boggs. Steve will address key provisions of the DTSA , outlining what companies and their counsel need to know about protecting and enforcing IP rights. The … Continue Reading
The UK electorate has decided that the UK should leave the European Union (EU). The referendum does not take immediate effect. Current EU law and EU-wide rights, for example, the EU trade mark and the registered Community design, will continue to apply until the withdrawal from the EU actually happens. The process of leaving the … Continue Reading
By way of follow-up to earlier posts (here and here), we can report that the Council of the European Union has formally adopted the Trade Secrets Directive. This is the last step in the EU legislative process. The Directive must now be published in the EU Official Journal. It will come into force 20 days … Continue Reading
We invite you to participate in our webinar on the Defend Trade Secrets Acts of 2016 on Thursday, June 9, 2016 at 9:00 am pdt. President Obama signed the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 (DTSA), S. 1890, into law on May 11, 2016. The DTSA creates the first-ever federal civil cause of action for … Continue Reading
