Expanding what until recently had been very limited options for U.S. companies to enforce their rights against Chinese companies misappropriating trade secrets, the Federal Circuit in TianRui Group Co. v. International Trade Commission, Fed. Cir., Case No. 2010-1395, held that the International Trade Commission has statutory authority to review and rule on conduct occurring in China in the course of a trade secret misappropriation investigation. The primary effect of this decision is that US companies…

White Wave International, Inc. filed an action in Florida against Lindsay Lohan, Lorit LLC, a company she has an indirect ownership interest in, and several other defendants arising out of a certain Confidentiality Agreement Between Firms (“CABF”) between White Wave and Lorit. It was alleged by White Wave that the CABF provided Lohan, Lorit and the other defendants with a time-limited opportunity to examine and obtain samples of White Wave’s product. It was further alleged that although Lorit…

The ABA Journal reports that a Princeton PhD candidate study has found electronic “redactions” included on PDF documents may not always be effective. Specifically, the study revealed that a computer program was able to scan 1.8 million Pacer filed documents, identify 2,000 documents that contained redactions (in the form of the ubiquitous “black boxes” obscuring the confidential information) and further identify 194 of these redactions which were able to be removed and the “confidential” information revealed. The…

Employment Agreement’s forum, venue and personal jurisdiction clause upheld despite argument that the agreement was signed “under extreme pressure” and without sufficient time for counsel to review.  CLP Resources, Inc. v T. Salerno, 2011 WL 1597677 (W.D.Wash.) (April 27, 2011). Plaintiff CLP Resources, Inc. (“CLP”), a large provider of temporary construction workers, sued a former employee, defendant Salerno, and his new business, Defendant Alliance Project Staffing (“Alliance”), claiming causes of action for breach of contract,…

On December 13, 2010, Kevin Crow was sentenced to serve thirty-six (36) months in Federal prison, without parole, which prison term was to be followed by 3 years’ supervised release. Mr. Crow was also fined $10,000.00. What was Mr. Crow’s alleged crime? He had been charged with one-count of Theft of Trade Secrets in violation of Title 18 United States Code, Section 1832. Specifically, Mr. Crow allegedly had stolen trade secrets from a former employer and used this information…

ING Life Ins. and Annuity Co. v. Gitterman, Slip Copy, 2010 WL 3283526 (DNJ August 18, 2010) Plaintiffs ING Life Insurance and Annuity Company (“ILIAC”) and ING Financial Advisors (“IFA”) (collectively, “Plaintiffs” or “ING”), sought to enjoin defendants, all of whom were former employees of ING, from soliciting clients to withdraw certain accounts from ING, pending the resolution of a FINRA Dispute Resolution Proceeding. The Court initially granted a preliminary TRO enjoining defendants from: (1) “soliciting,…

Plaintiff IDG USA, LLC (“IDG”), a Georgia company with its principal place of business in North Carolina, commenced an action against a former employee, Kevin J. Schupp (“Schupp”), a New York resident, alleging breaches of a Non-Compete Agreement, breach of a Confidentiality Agreement, unfair competition, and theft of trade secrets. In a 12 page decision, IDG USA, LLC v. Schupp, Slip Copy, 2010 WL 3260046 (W.D.N.Y. Aug.18, 2010), the District Court granted IDG’s Motion for…