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Seventh Annual

By Invitation-Only

 

Hot Topics in

Trade Secrets Protection,

Enforcement, and Litigation

Featuring Magistrate Judge, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California;

Judge, Santa Clara Superior Court; Assistant United States Attorney, Chief,

National Security and Cyber Section, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of California DOJ;

FBI and Top Legal Experts from Firms, Companies

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Tuesday, April 30, 2024

In-Person at Morrison & Foerster Conference Center

425 Market Street

San Francisco

9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. PDT

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* The Stakes Are Greater Than Ever

With the Continuing Explosion of Cases

* New Non-Competition Prohibition in California;

FTC and Other Non-Compete State Laws in Flux

FACULTY From the Judiciary and the Government

Hon. Laurel Beeler, United States Magistrate Judge, United States District Court, Northern District of California, San Francisco

Elvis M. Chan, Asst. Special Agent in Charge, San Francisco Division, Cyber Branch, FBI, San Francisco

Laura Vartain Horn, Assistant United States Attorney, Chief, National Security and Cyber Section, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of California, San Francisco

Hon. Sunil R. Kulkarni, Judge, Santa Clara Superior Court, San Jose, CA

 

OTHER FACULTY MEMBERS include top law firm litigators, in-house counsel, consulting experts:

David S. Almeling, Partner, O’Melveny & Myers LLP, San Francisco

Paul Alsdorf, Director & Managing Counsel, Litigation, Twilio, San Francisco

Jennifer S. Baldocchi, Partner, Paul Hastings, Los Angeles

Russell Beck, Partner, Beck Reed Riden LLP, Boston

Dave Cowen, Vice President, Charles River Associates, Dallas

Christine Demana, Partner, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, Dallas

Ashley Eddy, Senior Vice President and Legal Counsel, MGM Resorts International, Las Vegas

Eneda Hoxha, Vice President, Intellectual Property & Business Development; Head of AI, ReCode Therapeutics,

Menlo Park

Jeff Homrig, Partner, Global Vice Chair Intellectual Property Litigation Practice, Latham & Watkins LLP, Austin

L. Kieran Kieckhefer, Partner, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, San Francisco

Bethany W. Kristovich, Partner, Munger, Tolles & Olson, Los Angeles

Kenneth A. Kuwayti, Partner, Morrison & Foerster, Palo Alto

Catherine Y. Lui, Partner, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, San Francisco

Rachael E. Meny, Partner, Keker, Van Nest & Peters LLP, San Francisco

Mindy M. Morton, Partner, Procopio, Palo Alto

Daniel M. McGavock, Vice President, Practice Leader of Intellectual Property, Charles River Associates, Chicago

James Pooley, Independent Attorney, James Pooley, PLC, Menlo Park

Bridget Smith, Assistant General Counsel, Head of Intellectual, Relativity Space, Long Beach, CA

Michael D. Weil, Partner, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, San Francisco

Michelle Woodhouse, Associate General Counsel, IP Litigation, Meta, Menlo Park

Jee Young You, Director of Litigation, Adobe, San Jose

Faculty from the Judiciary and Government

This is a “watershed” year to attend our 7th Annual Conference. Action is percolating on many fronts.  The distinguished group of panelists we have assembled are all involved in cutting edge trade secrets matters.  They will provide a comprehensive analysis of the latest trends and developments. 

 

The federal, magistrate judge and state judge on the panel have handled a large number of trade secrets cases. The Judges’ will explain the latest rulings and practices.  The FBI and U.S. Attorney’s office have seen an uptick in cases too.  Also our panelists from firms and companies will share their perspectives and insights on the latest case law and what it means as well as what best practices they are seeing for protecting sensitive information. 

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Restrictive Covenants, Non-Competition, Non-Solicitation

and Non-Disclosure Agreements—2024 Changes the Equation

in California and Around the Country

2024 is shaping up as a pivotal year for companies to revise practices related to non-competition, NDAs and non-solicitation agreements.  The new changes taking effect now in California dramatically changes the way companies handle competitive employment situations.  FTC may ban employers nationwide from implementing non-compete agreements.

 

With the FTC putting companies on notice that non-competition agreements may soon be banned, companies cannot wait to revise practices and change direction on employee protections.  In addition to the FTC, the NLRB is also opining that many employee rights are protected by non-solicitation requirements. 

 

This area of law and practice is in flux in many ways.  The conference will sort out the bans and the employee rights as well as company enforcement efforts.  We will also discuss employment and labor best practices for protecting employee rights while enhancing company benefits.

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New Damages Theories, Recent Cases

The panel of damages experts will explain new damages theories of causation, “unjust enrichment claims”, apportioning damages, and “undisclosed value.” The new theories are becoming more common.  Key recent cases we will examine include: Syntel v. Trizetto; Appian v. Pegasystems; Versata v Ford; Motorola v. Hytera; Masimo v. Apple; Epic Systems v. TCS; PPG Industries, Inv. v. Jiangsu Tie Mao Glass Co.; Advanced Fluid Systems v. Huber; Olaplex v. L’Oreal

 

Key topics include cybersecurity and trade secrets, defining trade secrets, using AI in discovery and research.  Other key issues are managing the risk of departing employees, patent vs trade secrets issues; and restrictions on enforcement of employee non-solicitation, non-compete agreements. The panel will also discuss practical issues company counsel confronts every day; protection of trade secrets, “reasonable efforts” and the importance of contracts.

Program Highlights/Topics for Discussion

9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. PDT

Panel 1:  Observations From the Judiciary and Government

  • Judicial Perspectives on Trade Secrets Law and Practice

    • Advice to litigation counsel; successful trial strategies

    • Identification of the claimed trade secrets – specificity and timing

    • Trends in trade secrets cases (including the interplay with non-competes and the use of forum selection clauses)

    • TROs and preliminary injunctions

    • How often do trade secret cases go all the way to trial?

    • How do you handle AI in cases?

  • Criminal Prosecution of Trade Secrets Theft

    • Government priorities

    • Recent investigations and prosecutions

    • Geopolitical challenges, including national security and state actors

    • Cybercrime prosecutions, ransomware, new forms of cyber intrusions, business email compromise

Panel 2:  Restrictive Covenants, Non-Competition Agreements: New Challenges

  • Update on regulatory and legislative developments – FTC, NLRB, new state laws

  • Non-disclosure agreements, and non-solicitation agreements prohibited in California, and in many states

  • Unanswered questions on California State Non-Competition Laws since the 2024 changes

    • Limited exceptions

    • Are covenants-not-to-solicit enforceable? In California? In other states?

    • How should companies in California with employees outside of California treat them re non solicitation agreements?

  • How to enforcing non-competes and other restrictive covenants in light of regulatory and legislative developments

  • Recent case law developments concerning restrictive covenants

  • Employment and labor best practices

    • How to manage risk of on-boarding employees

    • Managing risk of departing employees

    • Use of arbitration provisions

    • Changing best practices given legislative activity, press attention, etc. 

    • To what extent should companies consider garden leave provisions and/or paid and right to buy non-competes as alternatives to non-competes not tied to separate consideration? 

 

Panel 3:  The In-House Perspective - Protection, Prevention and Investigations

  • Trade Secret Protection

    • What kinds of information does your firm (or do your clients) consider a trade secret or confidential?

    • Has the increase in remote work made it more challenging to protect trade secrets and confidential information?

    • Practical steps that companies can take to protect their trade secrets.

    • How do you decide whether to patent an invention or protect it as a trade secret? Can you do both?

  • Cybersecurity risks; tools to detect internal and external threats, confidentiality and reputational concerns

  • What to do when there’s been a theft or one is suspected?

  • Avoiding being accused of misappropriation

  • AI: understanding the relevance of the new Biden Executive Order on AI.  Using AI in practice for research and discovery.  Open source.  Digital assets.

 

Panel 4:  Trade Secrets in the Courtroom: Civil Litigation and Damages

  • Civil Litigation: Planning and Strategy

    • Litigation Best Practices

      • Discovery—using AI in discovery and other trial steps

      • Trial

  • Key Takeaways from Recent Cases

    • What lessons can we learn from recent high profile trade secret cases like Syntel v. Trizetto; Appian v. Pegasystems; Versata v Ford; Motorola v. Hytera; Masimo v. Apple; Epic Systems v. TCS; PPG Industries, Inv. v. Jiangsu Tie Mao Glass Co.; Advanced Fluid Systems v. Huber; Olaplex v. L’Oreal

  • Damages Strategy

    • Damages awards are sky high.  What is your case really worth?

    • What types of damages are recoverable? What are some of the unique challenges (and opportunities) in determining and presenting trade secret damages claims?

    • Causation considerations?

    • Apportionment/scenario planning

    • Avoiding double recovery

    • What lessons can be learned about how to successfully prosecute/defend against damages claims from recent trade secret cases? (e.g., BladeRoom v. Facebook, E.J. Brooks Co. v. Cambridge Sec. Seals)

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