On May 11, President Obama signed the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) of 2016, providing a federal cause of action for misappropriation of trade secrets. Until now, companies suing to defend their trade secrets had to resort to state courts. While most states have laws protecting trade secrets, outcomes under these laws were neither uniform...Read More

A lawsuit that had challenged music publisher Warner/Chappell’s rights in its claims of copyright ownership in the lyrics to “Happy Birthday” has resulted in a settlement that requires Warner/Chappell to reimburse $14 million to licensees for fees that were paid to use the song.  As a result, the “Happy Birthday” song is now in the...Read More

Trade secrets are important and valuable assets of a business operation. In Indiana, trade secrets are protected by the Uniform Trade Secrets Act pursuant to Indiana Code § 24-2-3-2, et seq. Trade secrets are generally defined as information that derives its independent economic value from being generally not known or readily ascertainable, and reasonable efforts...Read More

Recently, after a complex three-week trial involving more than a dozen different patents, over 30 allegedly infringing devices and wide-ranging claims on utility, design ownership and trade dress, a federal court jury in the lawsuit between Apple and Samsung found mostly in favor of Apple, including awarding Apple just over $1 billion in damages, while...Read More