Just witnessed one of the more brilliant presentation tactics I’ve ever seen. Paul Storm was just up talking about a case involving trade secrets, and as soon as he mentioned a particular party, his co-panelist Mike Karson stopped him, and took over the podium to begin explaining the effect that an Anti-SLAPP motion could have interrupting a case (as he did Paul’s presentation). Brilliant. Just brilliant.
Today appears to be former employee day, topped off with the first seizure order I’ve seen under the still relatively new Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA), which is what we used to call UTSA, or TUTSA or TTSA back when it was common law or Texas statutory law. In this case, a former employee is alleged to have taken the company’s trade secrets. Judge Mazzant authorized seizure of a laptop belonging to the company in the employee’s possession, but the laptop couldn’t be found, which set the stage for the injunction proceeding as well as additional excitement for the defendants’ electronic devices.
This opinion passing on a defendant’s motion for summary judgment as to a plaintiff’s claims of willful infringement dealt with a couple of interesting issues regarding the necessary prerequisites for a claim of willful infringement.
One of the EDTX cases being handled by Judge William C. Bryson of the Federal Circuit has an upcoming hearing on whether the defendant should be held in contempt for not making ordered royalty payments as to certain products following a jury verdict of trade secret misappropriation (later affirmed on appeal and cert denied). Judge Bryson recently issued a couple of orders in connection with that hearing that readers might find of interest.
