The Eleventh Circuit recently struck down an award of $4.5 million in damages after a jury determined that a manufacturer had misappropriated a shared trade secret.  AcryliCon USA, LLC (“AcryliCon”) and Silikal GmbH (“Silikal”) had a business relationship in which Silikal manufactured and AcryliCon distributed a proprietary flooring resin of superior compressive strength (1061 SW), and each claimed ownership of the 1061 SW formula trade secret to the exclusion of the other. While ownership of…

In our prior post, we discussed what constitutes unlawful use of trade secrets, who bears the burden of proof, and how evidence can be collected to prove trade secret misappropriation under Belgian law. Today’s post, which is the fifth and last in our series where we spotlight international issues in trade secret law, looks at two final questions: 1) Protection of trade secrets during court proceedings: who is allowed inside the “confidentiality club”? A…

In our prior post, we discussed under what conditions business information could qualify as a trade secret under Belgian law (it must be secret, have commercial value, and be subject to reasonable protection measures). Today’s post, which is the fourth in our series where we spotlight international issues in trade secret law, looks at two other critical questions: 1) Is the use of a trade secret per se unlawful? Even if it can be…

Today’s blog is the third in a series where we spotlight international issues in trade secret law, in particular, answering practical questions and providing insights into the application and interpretation by Belgian courts of specific aspects of the Belgian Trade Secrets Act. (See our first post here and our second here.) Today’s post addresses two questions: 1) When does information have trade value?…

On February 10, the U.S. International Trade Commission (“ITC”) issued a final determination finding South Korean lithium-ion electric vehicle battery maker SK Innovation misappropriated the trade secrets of its Korean competitor LG Chem in violation of Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930.  The ITC issued a 10-year exclusion order blocking SK’s imports into the U.S. of lithium-ion batteries and related products, but with substantial exceptions: SK is permitted to continue importing these products…

2020 saw a marked uptick in unfair import investigations at the International Trade Commission (ITC), with an especially strong close to the year: eight new complaints in December alone brought the year’s total to 62 new complaints to the Commission, well above the ten-year average of 49. Complaints alleging trade secret misappropriation rose particularly, as the ITC becomes increasingly popular due to its speed, jurisdiction and unique remedies.  While just five investigations solely of trade…

On January 11, Mayor Muriel Bowser signed “The Ban on Non-Compete Agreements Amendment Act of 2020” (the “Act”).  Though some other states and municipalities have restricted the use of non-compete agreements, the District of Columbia’s new ban – once it is applicable – will go further than similar laws in any other jurisdiction.  With few exceptions, employers in the District of Columbia will not be allowed to include non-compete provisions in employment agreements…