In an ongoing battle between rival dating apps, Tinder is suing Bumble for patent infringement, trademark infringement and theft of trade secrets. In a complaint filed on March 16, 2018, Match Group, LLC – parent company of Tinder, Match, OkCupid and more – claims that Bumble is a Tinder clone, built using stolen technology. The … Continue reading
Real estate giant CBRE has filed a massive theft of trade secrets lawsuit against former longtime broker Richard Rizika. In its complaint filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, CBRE details a shocking, intentional, pre-meditated conspiracy to steal nearly 500,000 company documents and files. Whether or not the documents … Continue reading
An interesting case out of the Eastern District of North Carolina reminds us of the importance of choice of law when dealing with non-compete litigation. Let’s take a look: In December 2009, Associated Hygienic Products (“AHP”) hired James DeFelice as the Director of Purchasing. AHP makes disposable diapers. This is a huge and growing market … Continue reading
A fascinating, salacious trade secrets case out of the Western District of Missouri and the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals: Hallmark Cards, Inc. hired Monitor Company Group, L.P. to provide research related to the greeting cards market. Monitor then took the research it had prepared for Hallmark and gave it to a related private equity … Continue reading
Pittsburgh-based Blue Belt Technologies, an emerging player in the medical device and medical technology industry, continues to find itself at the center of non-compete disputes. Earlier this year, Blue Belt clashed with MAKO Surgical, a rival in the surgical robotics industry, after Blue Belt hired former MAKO sales executive Jeffrey Gellman. This time, Blue Belt, … Continue reading
Devicor Medical Products, a major player in the medical device industry, has lost its bid to prevent a former employee from working for Hologic, a company with divisions that compete against Devicor in the breast biopsy product market. In June 2005, Keith Reed began work as a sales representative for Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Devicor’s predecessor. In … Continue reading
Fort Lauderdale-based MAKO Surgical Corporation has filed a lawsuit against a former employee, Jeffrey Gellman, and his new company, Blue Belt Technologies, Inc., alleging the parties conspired to steal MAKO’s confidential information and clients. MAKO is a company that is principally engaged in the design, manufacture and sale of robotic surgical systems. These systems use … Continue reading
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD), one of the world’s largest manufacturers of computer graphics cards, has sued four former employees alleging a massive theft of company trade secrets. The case was filed last week in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. According to the complaint, former AMD executive Robert Feldstein was … Continue reading
Early this month, eight employees of the advertising giant Leo Burnett Company simultaneously left the company in the midst of work on a critical project for a major client. Ostensibly, the Leo Burnett Eight have their eyes set on taking that client and making it big on their own. Leo Burnett is one of the … Continue reading