Intellectual Property News and Reports

After many years at Applied Materials, Inc. (Applied), Canfeng Lai left for a new job at Mattson Technology, Inc. (Mattson). First, however, he emailed himself a number of files containing Applied trade secrets. Applied sued both Lai and Mattson for... Read more →

The panel affirmed the district court’s dismissal for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction of an Administrative Procedure Act (APA) action brought by United Aeronautical Corporation and Blue Aerospace, LLC (collectively, Aero) against the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Air National Guard... Read more →

This legal entanglement began in Ontario, Canada, where Nulogy Corporation sued Menasha Packaging Company, LLC, and Deloitte Consulting LLP, alleging the two collaborated to misuse Nulogy’s proprietary information and Menasha breached its contract with Nulogy.1 After Deloitte challenged the Canadian... Read more →

Plaintiffs-Counter-Defendants-Appellants Syntel Sterling Best Shores Mauritius Limited and Syntel, Inc. (collectively, “Syntel”) appeal from a final judgment entered in favor of Defendants-Counter-Claimants-Appellees The TriZetto Group, Inc. and Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (collectively, “TriZetto”) after a jury trial in the United... Read more →

Direct Biologics, LLC (“DB”) brought claims for breach of covenant to not compete and misappropriation of trade secrets against Adam McQueen, DB’s former employee, and Vivex Biologics, Inc. (“Vivex”), McQueen’s new employer. After granting DB a temporary restraining order based... Read more →

Ahern Rentals, Inc. (Ahern), alleges that two competitors— EquipmentShare.com, Inc. (EquipmentShare) and EZ Equipment Zone, LLC (EZ)— misappropriated its trade secrets to gain an unfair advantage in the construction equipment rental industry. The district court first dismissed EZ from the... Read more →

Caudill Seed & Warehouse Co. manufactures an important ingredient in certain nutritional supplements. Jarrow Formulas, Inc., a customer of Caudill’s, wanted to get into this manufacturing business. To do this, Jarrow decided to lure away Caudill’s Director of Research, Kean... Read more →

When biotech firms engage in the entrepreneurial equivalent of musical chairs, one firm sometimes gets left out in the cold. That is essentially what happened here — and it led to the litigation described below. The music began with serial... Read more →

AcryliCon USA, LLC (“AC-USA”) and Silikal GmbH (“Silikal”) have been fighting for years over a trade secret. This is their third trip to our Court. The last time they were before this Court, a panel erased some of the relief... Read more →

It’s been said that 80 percent of success is showing up. One can quibble about the percentage, but it’s a good bet that refusing to show up, especially when you’re being sued, is a recipe for failure. That’s a lesson... Read more →