Month: November 2013

THANKSGIVING POST: Court Protects Quizno’s Franchise Turkey Trade Secrets

This Thanksgiving, Trade Secrets Watch is serving a delicious tale about protecting trade secrets in a franchising relationship.

In 1994, Quizno’s entered into a franchise agreement with Robert Kampendahl, an enterprising fellow who wanted to open up a Quizno’s sandwich shop in St. Charles, Illinois.  Unfortunately, Kampendahl didn’t keep his food equipment clean, used unapproved foods, and had safety and sanitation problems, so Quizno’s terminated the franchise agreement. Upon termination, Kampendahl was subject to a covenant not to compete that prohibited him from opening a competing sandwich shop within five miles. READ MORE

CYBERSECURITY UPDATE: New Rules Require Defense Contractors to Protect Technical Information

The U.S. Department of Defense issued final rulemaking on November 18, 2013 that will require DOD contractors to protect from attack confidential technical information on their computer systems, and to report and cooperate with DOD in the event that this information is compromised through a cyberattack.  The rules come nearly two years after draft rules were first announced and in the midst of continuing public concern about the threat of state-sponsored trade secrets theft. READ MORE

The “I Was Just Trying to Land a New Job” Defense to Criminal Trade Secret Theft Charges

On February 28, 2008, Hanjuan Jin, a Chinese-born former software engineer for Motorola, arrived at Chicago O’Hare Airport en route to Beijing.  During a random customs check, officials discovered that she had a one-way ticket to China, $31,252 in cash, thousands of confidential documents regarding Motorola’s iDEN cell phone technology, and ties to the Chinese military.  Her excuse for travelling with thousands of confidential and proprietary Motorola documents in her suitcase?  Jin said that she planned to refresh her knowledge of the work she had done over the past years with Motorola, “so that I can prepare myself for further career going [sic].” READ MORE

Uniform Protection of Trade Secrets in the EU? Hooray! Ole! Hourra!

European Union officials have just issued a draft set of rules that would impose uniform trade secret guidelines across the EU, motivated by trade pact negotiations with the United States and concerns about state-sponsored spying, according to The New York Times.  Although the leaders of the European Commission have yet to sign off on the proposed rules, they plan to adopt them tentatively on November 27.  The rules are then subject to a long legislative negotiating process before they come into force. READ MORE

The Role of Alleged Trade Secret Forensic Evidence in the Amanda Knox Murder Case

Last week, Sen. Maria Cantwell and Rep. Adam Smith, both Washington Democrats, convened a Congressional briefing to discuss the ongoing murder case against Amanda Knox, the 26-year-old University of Washington foreign exchange student who was convicted in Italy of brutally murdering her 21-year-old British roommate, Meredith Kercher. The highly publicized and polarizing story of Kercher’s gruesome murder is stomach-churning and heartbreaking, especially for trade secret lawyers who are more accustomed to discussing source code and customer lists. Yet there is a trade secret component to this case. Boise State University, the employer of one of Knox’s consulting technical experts, is holding back relevant DNA analysis research on the grounds that it is a trade secret. READ MORE