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Rebecca Edelson

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Rebecca (“Bec”) Edelson is a partner in the Intellectual Property and Litigation Practice Groups and leads the firm's Trade Secrets Team.

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Trade secrets and other proprietary information can be among a business’ most valuable assets and drive its competitive advantage.  It is therefore ordinarily critical that employees be bound by an enforceable agreement that prohibits them from misusing or otherwise harming the value of the employer’s confidential information.  The recent California Court of Appeal decision, Brown v. TGS Management Co., LLC (2020) 57 Cal.App.5th 303, should be of concern to employers because it holds that an employee confidentiality agreement may be voided as a de facto unlawful non-compete agreement if it has the effect of preventing the employee from working in the industry.    …
Continue Reading California Court Strikes Down Overbroad Confidentiality Agreement as a de facto Non-Compete

Given the prevalence of trade secret misappropriation litigation among members of the fashion, beauty, and retail industry, those in that industry should (1) take care to protect their trade secrets from misuse by others and (2) consider steps to try to reduce the risk of misappropriation claims against them by others.  Both situations – loss of a valuable trade secret and burdensome litigation – can be devastating to a business.  We offer here some potential measures that businesses can take to attempt to avoid such undesirable situations.
Continue Reading Members Of The Fashion and Retail Industry: Trade Secret Claims Are In Vogue These Days

While traditionally healthcare businesses have tended to look to patent protection, it would behoove them to also think about trade secret protection to protect their valuable inventions.  Given the financial strains on businesses from the COVID-19 pandemic, some businesses may find trade secret protection a cost-efficient alternative to the patent process. Trade secret enforcement also potentially can yield hundreds of millions, sometimes even over a billion, dollars for the trade secret holder.[1] Further, patent protection is not always available.[2]…
Continue Reading Admonition To Members Of The Healthcare Industry: Don’t Give Trade Secret Protection The Short Shrift!

Reprinted with permission from the May 21, 2020 issue of The Recorder. © 2020 ALM Media Properties, LLC. Further duplication without permission is prohibited.  All rights reserved.

Video conferencing has been available for years but given its new popularity in these COVID-19 times,[1] it behooves businesses to take care to protect their trade secrets during video conferencing.  Here, we address some potential risks to trade secrets from video conferencing –including hidden ones – and offer some potential measures to limit them.
Continue Reading Who’s Watching? Hidden Dangers To Trade Secrets From Video Conferencing

Here, we provide a cautionary tale of what can happen to a business that fails to preserve documents that are potentially relevant evidence to pending or threatened trade secrets litigation, and offer some takeaways for businesses that would like to avoid such dire straits.[1]…
Continue Reading A Cautionary Trade Secrets Tale: Failure To Preserve Potentially Relevant Evidence

Although employers may not think that the COVID-19 pandemic is threatening their trade secrets, it is.  The massive layoffs resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic[1] place employer trade secrets at risk.  Here, we offer 6 steps employers can consider to protect their trade secrets in these extraordinary times.
Continue Reading 6 Steps to Protect Your Trade Secrets During Covid-19 Layoffs