Trade secrets — information that has value because it is not generally known — are perhaps the most difficult form of intellectual property to protect.  This is due in no small part to the fact that the information must actually be kept secret, or at least its confidentiality maintained, for as long as trade secret protection is sought.  Read the rest of this entry »

While initially conceived in 1984 to punish hackers and safe guard classified financial and credit information relating to government and financial institutions, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (the “CFAA”) has evolved over the past two decades to reflect emerging technology in the areas it was created to protect. Specifically, the CFAA affords employers civil remedies which can be applied to workplace and unfair competition disputes by (1) providing employers with federal court jurisdiction over such disputes and (2) allowing employers to bring a CFAA claim without proving that the information fraudulently acquired was a trade secret, constituted confidential or proprietary information or breached an employment contract, confidentiality agreement or non-compete agreement. Read the rest of this entry »