Insurance Industry Fights Liability Claims
By John Watkins, Attorney with Chorey, Taylor & Feil
In your policy it states quite clearly that no claim that you make will be paid. You unfortunately plucked for our Never-Pay Policy, which if you never claim is very worthwhile - but, uh, you had to claim - and there it is… Monty Python’s Flying Circus, circa 1971
Trade Secrets and Confidential Information
By John Watkins, Attorney with Chorey, Taylor & Feil
According to recent reports, a Chinese company just agreed to a $200 million settlement of a trade secret case in California. Associated Press has reported that a former Home Depot manager has been criminally accused of passing trade secret information. These issues are extremely serious and should be considered carefully by any company large or small.
Federal Statutes Aid Trade Secret Prosecution
By John Watkins, Attorney with Chorey, Taylor & Feil
The short answer for persons leaving a company is to be very careful and to have a very clear understanding with the employer about what can and cannot be taken. The increasing involvement of government authorities in enforcing remedies involving trade secrets certainly signals a new level of risk for those who may be considering taking or copying trade secrets.
Sidekick Goof Shows Cloud Computing Risks
By John Watkins, Attorney with Chorey, Taylor & Feil
Consider the possible consequences of a catastrophic loss of data a doctor’s office, an insurance agency, a law firm, or basically any other business. It appears that users of cloud based services may have little in the way of legal remedies. A very quick review of the terms and conditions for two of the best known cloud providers illustrate the issue.
Court Limits Confidentiality in Civil Litigation
By John Watkins, Attorney with Chorey, Taylor & Feil
The United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia recently announced a new case management procedure that will limit the parties from consenting to blanket protective orders to protect the confidentiality of documents in civil cases.
Social Media Policies for Business Part II
By Tom McLain, Attorney with Chorey, Taylor & Feil
Many social media sites are set up so that a participant needs to endorse others in order to gain credibility; however, such endorsements may give the appearance that the company is actually giving the endorsement. Thus, the company has an interest to protect in connection with any social media account used that identifies an employee of the company.
Developing Social Media Policies for Business
By Tom McLain, Attorney with Chorey, Taylor & Feil
Given the informal nature of these media, there will be a stronger need to establish guidelines on how to promote products and services and how to defend them, particularly with respect to company-sponsored communications or “official” activities.
Online Legal Forms Present Business Risks
By Tom McLain, Attorney with Chorey, Taylor & Feil, PC
If the form is “neutral,” is that good enough for you or are you more interested in using a document that provides your company with as much protection as possible? Do you have the experience to know whether the form agreement is missing any key elements?
Legal Issues are Hazy for Cloud Computing
By John Watkins, Attorney with Chorey, Taylor & Feil
From a legal standpoint, cloud computing appears to raise a host of essentially contractual issues to be addressed by the parties’ contract or licensing arrangements. There are also potential regulatory issues (ranging from privacy to export control issues), potential e-discovery issues, and certainly other issues that have not yet crossed my mind.
Protecting Your Most Critical Information
By John Watkins, Attorney with Chorey, Taylor & Feil, PC
Trade secrets and confidential information truly are the crown jewels of many businesses. This is the information that allows businesses to compete effectively, and that provides a competitive edge. Despite the critical nature of this information, my experience is that many business people do not understand what they should be doing to protect the crown jewels. I repeatedly see posts on LinkedIn and elsewhere asking for a “form” or a link to a “free site” to get an NDA. Given the potential value of the information, this cavalier approach is surprising.
