Brackett & Ellis, P.C.

Brackett & Ellis, P.C. has been providing a diversified range of transaction and litigation services in Fort Worth, Texas, since 1978. As a midsize law firm, our team offers every client the experience and dedication that is necessary for success. We represent a wide range of clients, from individuals to large companies and nonprofit organizations. For more than three decades, our firm has developed a reputation as a valued corporate citizen in the Fort Worth community.

Latest from Brackett & Ellis, P.C. - Page 2

The Fort Worth Business & Employment Law Reporter

TCPA’s Commercial Speech Exemption Applies to Employer’s Claims Against Former Employee

By Heath Coffman

July 24, 2020

Insurance agent presentation and consultations with a lawyer or insurance agent. — (c) RedPixel / Adobe Stock

For the last few years, defendants in trade secrets and other commercial litigation claims have used the previous version of Texas’s anti-SLAAP statute the Texas Citizens Participation Act (TCPA) as a defense to those claims. Langley v. Insgroup, Inc., No. 14-19-00127-CV, 2020 WL 1679625 (Tex. App.–Houston [14th Dist.] Apr. 7, 2020, no pet. h.) is another example of this strategy. In Langley, an insurance salesman left his employer to work for a…

The Fort Worth Business & Employment Law Reporter

Employer’s Breach of Agreement Containing Non-Compete Provision Results in Court’s Denial of Request to Enforce Non-Compete Provision

By Heath Coffman

July 17, 2020

Courts will not enforce non-compete provisions in employment contracts when the employer breached the employment contract, too. That is the lesson of Insgroup, Inc. v. Langley, No. 14-18-01071-CV, 2020 WL 1679401 (Tex. App.-Houston [14th Dist.] Apr. 7, 2020, no pet. h.). …

The Fort Worth Business & Employment Law Reporter

Bona Fide Intent to Use as Applied to “Empire Records” (1995)

By Lee B. Hunt

July 13, 2020

“Empire Records” (1995), A conversation between Ethan Embry (“Mark”) and Rory Cochrane (“Lucas”): Mark: Oh! I’ve decided I’m going to start a band. Lucas: Really? [Leaning in], the first thing you need, is a name. Then you’ll know what kind of band you’ve got. Mark: Yeah. I know. I know. I was kinda thinking about, umm, “Marc”. What do you think of that? Lucas: Is that with a “C” or with a “K”? Mark:…

The Fort Worth Business & Employment Law Reporter

Navigating Amazon’s Neutral Patent Evaluation in Real Life

By Heath Coffman

July 7, 2020

Sankt-Petersburg, Russia, April 27, 2018: Amazon shopping application icon on Apple iPhone X screen close-up. Amazon shopping app icon. Amazon mobile application. Social media network — (c) Aleksei / Adobe Stock

Congratulations to my colleague Angelique McCall. She recently published two articles on Amazon’s Neutral Patent Evaluation in The Tipsheet, the newsletter of the Intellectual Property Section of the Texas State Bar. You can also find the articles on IP Watchdog. …

The Fort Worth Business & Employment Law Reporter

Save Your Money: You Can’t Register that Social Movement Phrase

By Lee B. Hunt

June 29, 2020

In the first Spiderman movie of the superhero era in which we still find ourselves, J. Jonah Jameson believed he thought of a catchy title for the bad guy. To his assistant, he then said the following declarative: “Call the patent office, copyright the name “Green Goblin.” I want a quarter every time someone says it!” This line demonstrates a mistake made by many, and it isn’t simply that the Library of Congress rather…

The Fort Worth Business & Employment Law Reporter

The Law of Trade Secrets Under the Uniform Trade Secrets Act

By Heath Coffman

June 28, 2020

Judge gavel and law books in court background with copy space — (c) Brian Jackson / Adobe Stock

Recently, trade secrets lawyer Patrick J. Huston sent me a copy of his new work The Law of Trade Secrets Under the Uniform Trade Secret Act. I appreciated receiving this work, which is a comprehensive overview of trade secrets law under the Uniform Trade Secrets Act. …

The Fort Worth Business & Employment Law Reporter

Ladies A– Lessons Learned from “A” Name Change

By Lee B. Hunt

June 17, 2020

While fans of the country music band Lady Antebellum have long abbreviated the band’s name for convenience, the band announced on June 11, 2020 that it would be officially changing its name to “Lady A.” Merriam Webster defines “antebellum” as “existing before a war, especially existing before the American Civil War.” And while the band’s motivations for the name change seem pure, the name change itself created ripples in the trademark and entertainment world that…

The Fort Worth Business & Employment Law Reporter

Crafting The Jury Charge in Trade Secrets Cases — Lessons from Title Source v. HouseCanary

By Heath Coffman

June 12, 2020

In June 2020, the San Antonio Court of Appeals issued its opinion in Title Source, Inc. v. HouseCanary, Inc., No. 04-19-00044-CV, 2020 WL 2858866 (Tex. App.–San Antonio June 3, 2020, no pet. h.), reversing and remanding for new trial a $740 million judgment in favor of HouseCanary on its Texas Uniform Trade Secrets Act (TUTSA) and fraud claims against Title Source.…

The Fort Worth Business & Employment Law Reporter

Houston’s First Court of Appeals Reverses Itself on the Application of the TCPA to Trade Secret Claims

By Heath Coffman

June 5, 2020

Trade Secret - Folder Name in Directory. — (c) tashatuvango / Adobe Stock

In 2018, the First Court of Appeals issued its opinion in Gaskamp v. WSP USA, Inc., No. 01-18-00079-CV, 2018 WL 6695810 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] Dec. 20, 2018, no pet.), which involves the application of Texas’s anti-SLAPP statute the Texas Citizen Participation Act (TCPA) to a trade secrets case. The Court’s opinion determined that the TCPA applied to such claims and reversed the trial court’s decision in part. Recently, though, the Court reconsidered its…

The Fort Worth Business & Employment Law Reporter

Dallas Court of Appeals Continues its Efforts to Restrict the Application of the TCPA

By Heath Coffman

May 3, 2020

Hospital Emergency Room — (c) Adobe Stock

Beginning with the Texas Supreme Court decisions in Lippincott v. Whisenhunt, 462 S.W.3d 507 (Tex. 2015) and ExxonMobil Pipeline Co. v. Coleman, 512 S.W.3d 895 (Tex. 2017) and continuing with the Austin Court of Appeals 2017 decision in Elite Auto Body LLC, d/b/a Precision Auto Body v. Autocraft Bodywerks, Inc., Texas courts had taken the position that Texas’s anti-SLAAP statute the Texas Citizens Participation Act (TCPA) had almost unlimited application to commercial…

Brackett & Ellis, P.C.

TCPA’s Commercial Speech Exemption Applies to Employer’s Claims Against Former Employee

Employer’s Breach of Agreement Containing Non-Compete Provision Results in Court’s Denial of Request to Enforce Non-Compete Provision

Bona Fide Intent to Use as Applied to “Empire Records” (1995)

Navigating Amazon’s Neutral Patent Evaluation in Real Life

Save Your Money: You Can’t Register that Social Movement Phrase

The Law of Trade Secrets Under the Uniform Trade Secrets Act

Ladies A– Lessons Learned from “A” Name Change

Crafting The Jury Charge in Trade Secrets Cases — Lessons from Title Source v. HouseCanary

Houston’s First Court of Appeals Reverses Itself on the Application of the TCPA to Trade Secret Claims

Dallas Court of Appeals Continues its Efforts to Restrict the Application of the TCPA

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