Intellectual Property

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The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, which hears federal appeals from Illinois, Wisconsin, and Indiana, recently issued a decision clarifying the level of specificity required to claim trade secret protection for software under federal law. In NEXT Payment Solutions, Inc. v. CLEAResult Consulting, Inc., the court explained a plaintiff cannot get to a jury just by describing software features in broad, everyday terms. To bring a viable trade secret claim under the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act, (“DTSA”), 18 U.S.C. §§ 1836 et seq., the party must be able to clearly explain what the “secret” is, not merely point to the system’s visible functions or the results it produces.

Continue Reading Trade Secret Claims Require Describing the Secret, Not the Software

The Federal Circuit recently confirmed the importance of properly identifying the trade secrets underlying a claim under the Ohio Uniform Trade Secrets Act (“OUTSA”) [Ohio Rev. Code §§ 1333.61…

Continue Reading Federal Circuit Upholds Setting Aside of Jury Verdict Where Trade Secrets Not Identified With Sufficient Particularity

Legal regimes are shifting, including in the intellectual property world as businesses increasingly seek the protection of trade secrets rather than patents to secure their confidential information. When the Defend Trade Secrets Act was passed in 2016, trade secret litigation skyrocketed, increasing more than 25 percent in a single year. While the number of trade secret cases filed in federal court fell briefly during COVID, that number is back on the rise, with over 1,200 cases filed last year. Meanwhile, patent litigation is experiencing the opposite trend: the number of patent cases filed in 2023 fell to their lowest levels since 2010. These trends highlight a shift in how businesses are protecting their companies’ confidential information that reflects an increased desire for comprehensive yet informal protection.

Continue Reading The Rise of Trade Secret Litigation