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
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
The Defend Trade Secrets Act was signed into law on May 11, 2016. It creates the first-ever federal civil cause of action for trade secret misappropriation. We have prepared an article on the Act. The article distills the DTSA’s most important aspects – and omissions – into a distinct set of takeaways of practical use … Continue Reading
President Barack Obama signed the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) into law yesterday, May 11, 2016. As we previously reported, the Senate unanimously passed the bill on April 4, and the House overwhelmingly passed it on April 27. The President has long supported the legislation to bring greater harmonization to trade secrets enforcement, following an … Continue Reading
On April 27, 2016, the U.S. House of Representatives approved the Defend Trade Secrets Act, S. 1890, by a vote of 410-2. The Senate approved an identical bill 87-0 on April 4, 2016. President Obama is expected to sign the DTSA into law in short order. Once effective, the DTSA will create a federal, civil cause … Continue Reading
By way of follow up to our January blog post, we can now report that, at the end of last week, the European Parliament voted in favour of the Trade Secrets Directive. This was despite some concern that the Directive could threaten press freedom, transparency and the ability to whistleblow. In essence, the Directive seeks … Continue Reading
Just as 2015 was coming to a close, Europe’s key legislative bodies (the EU Commission, the EU Council and the European Parliament) suddenly reached surprise political agreement on a number of pieces of proposed legislation. This included the draft Trade Secrets Directive. This Directive was originally proposed by the Commission back in 2013. Not much … Continue Reading
On 28 November, the European Commission published proposals to reform trade secrets law across Europe. These reforms should make it easier for trade secrets holders to protect their trade secrets and enforce their rights. The reforms are set out in a new EU Directive – full title the Directive on the protection of undisclosed know-how … Continue Reading
We at IP Tech Blog are interested in all aspects of international trade secret theft. This is why we were intrigued by an article published this morning on Law 360 about the alleged theft of trade secrets by two former Eli Lilly employees who were Chinese nationals. According to the superseding indictment, which was unsealed … Continue Reading
