Trade Secrets & Employee Mobility

Alabama has a new restrictive covenant statute.  A few weeks ago, Alabama Governor Bentley signed new legislation which will repeal the 1975 version of Alabama Code Section 8-1-1 titled “Contracts restraining business void; exceptions” and replace it with a new version effective January 1, 2016.

The new law stakes out the permissible scope and purpose of restrictive covenants such as non-compete and non-solicitation agreements.  Unlike some other states with restrictive covenant statutes, Alabama’s new law codifies a middle-of-the-road approach to restrictive ...

A recent Alabama Court of Appeals case, Jones v. Hamilton, Case No. 2081077 (January 22, 2010), illustrates how a failure to take reasonable steps to maintain the confidentiality of documents and information will result in the loss of trade secret status.