• trade secret

    Only Owners (Or Licensees) Can Bring a Claim Under the Federal Trade Secrets Act

    by  • April 20, 2020 • trade secret • 0 Comments

    In 2016 the United States enacted trade secret law at the federal level. Before that, trade secret law was available only at the state level, meaning a patchwork of different standards and no federal jurisdiction for claims. The Defend Trade Secrets Act (“DTSA”), changed that. Like trademark law, the federal trade secret law does...

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    Can a Trade Secret Licensee State a Claim?

    by  • May 15, 2010 • trade secret

    It can in Wisconsin. In Metso Minerals Industries, Inc. v. FLSmidth-Excel LLC, there was no question that the plaintiff, Metso, was only a licensee of the secret, not the owner. Two of the defendants were former employees of Metso and one of its licensees, but now are employees of the corporate defendant Excel. Metso...

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    I Own It When I See It

    by  • January 16, 2009 • trade secret

    How many people can own knowledge? Banks give merchants a line of credit for credit card transactions. The banks use independent service organizations (ISOs) to sign up merchants for the bank’s services and to provide the equipment needed to process the transactions. Merchants submit their sales to a payment processor, which transmits the information...

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    Keeping a Trade Secret Secret May Not Be Enough

    by  • December 31, 2008 • trade secret

    The trade secret form of intellectual property is unique because its very existence requires that it have economic value. Patents and copyrights don’t need to (and often don’t) generate a dime. Trademarks must be used in commerce to exist, but they don’t have to be used in an income-producing way. But the definition of...

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    How to Make Money on Dow Futures

    by  • October 3, 2008 • trade secret

    Most trade secret cases, in evaluating whether there is a trade secret or not, are looking at the degree to which secrecy was maintained, or analyzing whether the particular subject matter is of a type that may be protected through trade secret. Fishkin v. Susquehanna Partners G.P. (a declaratory judgment action) is a more unusual case...

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