James A. Goodman

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In Ixchel Pharma, LLC v. Biogen, Inc., 20 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 7729, __ P.3d __(August 3, 2020), the California Supreme Court made it easier for businesses to enforce restrictive covenants against other businesses.  This holding is a directional shift for the Court which had previously narrowly construed the applicable statute (California Business & Professions Code § 16600) when addressing employee mobility issues.

Ixchel sued Biogen in federal court and alleged Ixchel entered into a Collaboration Agreement with Forward to develop a new drug that contained dimethyl fumarate (DEF), which authorized Forward to terminate the agreement at any…
Continue Reading California Supreme Court Applies Rule of Reason Test for “Business Only” Restrictive Covenants

After more than three years of litigation and two rounds of extensive discovery, in Calendar Research LLC v. StubHub, Inc., et al., 2:17-cv-04062-SVW-SS, the United States District Court for the Central District of California dismissed almost all the remaining claims against StubHub and the other defendants.  In doing so, the Court confirmed that in California, specific identifiable trade secrets are required and general industry knowledge and “know how” is insufficient for trade secret protection.

The individual defendants founded and/or worked for a startup named Calaborate that developed a group scheduling mobile application named Klutch.   The Calaborate founder unsuccessfully attempted…
Continue Reading California Court Whittles Down Claims Against StubHub

190709-CA-WEBINAR

California, the Golden State, is a special place to live and work. However, if you are an employer in California, you have most likely heard warnings of what you cannot do in terms of protecting your workforce and trade secrets and preventing unfair competition. While the rules of the road are different in California, employers are not without tools to protect their resources. And those tools are the focus of this program: what you can do to protect your workforce and trade secrets in California.

Join our colleagues Steven R. Blackburn, James A. Goodman, and Peter A. Steinmeyer…
Continue Reading What Can You Do in California to Protect Your Workforce and Trade Secrets?

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On April 13, 2015 we blogged about the decision of the Ninth Circuit in Golden v. California Emergency Physicians Medical Group, 782 F.3d 1083 (9th Cir. 2015). There, the Ninth Circuit considered whether, under California law, an employee could be ordered to sign a settlement agreement that included language that restricted him, inter alia, from future employment with his former employer.

Dr. Golden is an emergency-room doctor who sued California Emergency Physicians Medical Group (“CEP”), among others, regarding his loss of staff membership at a medical facility.  His lawsuit was based on various state and federal causes…
Continue Reading Ninth Circuit Clarifies California Law Regarding “No Future Employment Provisions” in Settlement Agreements—But Also Leaves Several Open Issues

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California has always been a challenging jurisdiction for employers in terms of limiting unfair competition by former employees and protecting trade secrets. However, employers in the state can significantly enhance their ability to protect their business interests in these areas with a little planning and strategic thinking.

In this issue of Take 5, we look at some proactive steps that employers can take to prevent unfair competition by departed employees and protect trade secrets from misappropriation:

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Continue Reading Take 5 Newsletter: Employee Mobility and Trade Secret Protection in California: What Works and What Doesn’t

NuScience Corporation is a California corporation that researches, develops and distributes health and beauty products, including nutritional supplements. In 2009, NuScience obtained by default a permanent injunction in a California federal court against Robert and Michael Henkel, the nephew of a woman from whom NuScience purchased the formula for a nutritional supplement, prohibiting them from selling or marketing NuScience’s trade secrets. Before the federal court injunction was entered, NuScience terminated the employment of David McKinney, NuScience Vice President of sales and marketing. McKinney signed a separation agreement wherein he agreed to maintain the confidentiality of certain NuScience-related matters. What followed…
Continue Reading Trade Secrets Injunction Spawns Intrigue, Alleged Threats, And Malicious Prosecution Actions

In a complimentary webinar on May 20 (1:00 p.m. ET), our colleagues James A. Goodman and Ian Carleton Schaefer will lead a webinar focusing on how the cloud and employee mobility are impacting trade secret protection strategies.

Join the Technology, Media, and Telecommunications (TMT) strategic industry group and the Non-Competes, Unfair Competition, and Trade Secrets group of Epstein Becker Green’s Labor and Employment practice for a discussion on the following topics: 

  • The Cloud and Its Impact on Employee Mobility and Trade Secrets
  • Trade Secret Law, Disclosure Risks, and Reasonable Efforts to Safeguard Trade Secrets
  • Employment Law and Corporate Strategies to Identify and

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Continue Reading Webinar, May 20: Protecting Trade Secrets in the Cloud