Continuing Legal Education (CLE)
AIPLA Career & Practice Management Discussion Series - Protecting Trade Secrets in an Anti-Noncompete Era
March 2, 2021 12:30 PM to 2:00 PM
Member-benefit exclusive! A presentation from the Career & Practice Management Discussion Series.. No CLE credit available.
Noncompetition agreements have historically offered powerful protection against misappropriation of trade secrets. While a departing employee may have legal and contractual obligations to refrain from disclosing trade secrets to a subsequent competing employer, an enforceable noncompete means that the employer need not blindly trust that its former employee will remain faithful to these obligations. Removing the employee from the competitor effectively removes the threat. But noncompetes have fallen out of favor with many judges, state legislators, and even our new President, all of whom decry these agreements as being unfair to workers and improperly restrictive of their mobility in the labor market. Many states have enacted statutes limiting or prohibiting the enforcement of noncompetes, and the Biden Administration has forewarned of his intention to abolish them. In light of these challenges, noncompetes have become a less reliable tool, and businesses need to find alternative means to protect and secure their trade secrets. In this seminar, Tom McNulty, an intellectual property attorney at Lando & Anastasi, and Max Perlman an employment and trade secret litigator at Hirsch Roberts Weinstein LLP, will address the challenges and potential solutions through a discussion of the following topics:
- A Powerful Tool: Protecting Trade Secrets with Noncompetes
- Using noncompetes to protect trade secrets
- Unique protection offered by noncompetes
- Challenges to the Enforceability (and Existence, Even) of Noncompetes
- Recent court decisions
- State legislative efforts
- President Biden’s warnings
- Optimizing the Prospects for Enforcement of Noncompetes
- Reasonableness in scope and target
- Reasonableness in enforcement efforts
- Statutory compliance / adherence to presumptions
- Plan B: Protecting Trade Secrets in the Absence of Noncompetes
- Other restrictive covenants
- DTSA / UTSA / Inevitable disclosure
- Practical / technological solutions
- Special considerations for protecting trade secrets in a remote working environment
System requirements:
Webinar access is compatible with any Windows 7 or later computer, Android OS devices, or Apple/iOS devices. Check system compatibility here.
Accessibility for hearing impaired:
AIPLA’s webinars are available and accessible to individuals who are hearing impaired. If anyone at your location would like to know more about accommodations, please contact cle@aipla.org. We ask that you let us know at least 7 business days out from the webinar, to ensure that we can identify and deploy the solution that best fits our registrants needs.
Disclaimer: AIPLA is a nonprofit national bar association. The sole purpose of this CLE program is to provide educational and informational content. AIPLA does not provide legal services or advice. The opinions, views and other statements expressed by contributors to this CLE program are solely those of the contributors. These opinions, views and statements of the contributors do not necessarily represent those of AIPLA and should not be construed as such.
News
-
Letter in support for S. 1546, the Patent Eligibility Restoration Act.
October 8, 2025
Arlington, VA. October 8, 2025 - The American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) submitted a letter in support for S. 1546, the Patent Eligibility Restoration Act. -
AIPLA Comments on the UK IPO’s Standards Essential Patents Consultation
October 7, 2025
Arlington, VA. October 7, 2025 – The American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) submitted comments to the UK Intellectual Property Office (UK IPO) regarding its Standards Essential Patents (SEP) Consultation published in July 2025. AIPLA expressed support for the UK IPO’s goal of improving predictability and efficiency in SEP licensing but emphasized the need for a balanced approach that protects both SEP holders and implementers. -
US Senate Confirms John A. Squires as Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office
September 18, 2025
On September 18, 2025, the U.S. Senate confirmed John A. Squires as Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. -
AIPLA Files Amicus Brief in Cox Communications, Inc. v Sony Music Entertainment
September 5, 2025
Arlington, VA. September 5, 2025 – The American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) AIPLA filed an amicus brief in support of neither party in Cox Communications, Inc. v Sony Music Entertainment, Supreme Court Case No. 24-171. -
AIPLA Comments on the OECD's Working Party on Countering Illicit Trade (WP-CIT) Draft Voluntary Guidelines
August 25, 2025
Arlington, VA. August 25, 2025 – The American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) submitted comments to the USPTO on the OECD’s Draft Voluntary Guidelines for Countering Illicit Trade in Counterfeit Goods on Online Marketplaces, highlighting best practices for governments, online marketplace operators, and rights holders.