Trade Secrets, Non-Competes, Interference & the Duty of Loyalty: Basics & Recent Law

Program Description:
This seminar will present frequently hotly-litigated areas related to employers’ relations with employees concerning the basic issues of employer trade secrets, competition by former and current employees, and interference with contract. Topics will include:

• Non-Competition in the employment setting with attention to the new case of Edwards v. Arthur Andersen, 44 Cal.4th 937 (SCS147190 8/7/08). Is that non-competition agreement enforceable in California? Elsewhere?
• Trade Secrets - how to get one; how to protect one; how to enforce one; how to litigate one. Is a confidentiality agreement worth the paper it’s printed on? From development of the property to initiating of litigation to discovery to resolving the lawsuit.
• Close to trade secrets: Electronic Communications Privacy Act; Constitutional Privacy; other privacy issues concerning employer intellectual property.
• Interference with contract and economic relations. Two related torts with differing purposes, elements of proof, and potential remedies.
• Employee duty of loyalty. Infrequently used Labor Code provisions that control employee behavior on the job. Is that gratuity yours or the company’s? Who gets to take advantage of business opportunities presented to an employer?
• Wrongful termination. When employers cross the line.
• Unfair competition. Not just a parasitic claim any longer. Remedies, statute of limitations, and notification to the authorities.

Speaker: Dylan Wiseman, Esq.

Mr. Wiseman's intellectual property protection practice includes preparing non-disclosure agreements, intellectual property assignment provisions, and non-solicitation covenants. Mr. Wiseman has also represented fashion designers, aerospace firms, biomedical companies, inventors, numerous high-tech and e-commerce firms, real estate companies, casinos, healthcare companies, sporting goods companies, and television stations in litigation disputes involving trade secrets and unfair competition. Mr. Wiseman also counsels and defends businesses accused of engaging in trade secret misappropriation and acts of unfair competition.

Mr. Wiseman also defends employers accused of wrongful termination, retaliation, sexual harassment, wage and hour violations, and discrimination.