Any business that offers goods or services to the public uses names, phrases, logos, or designs to distinguish their products or services from those of their competitors. These elements are often known as the “brand” for a particular product or service. Trademark law protects the value of brands by…
A business that uses false statements in connection with the sale of their products or those of their competitor can be held liable to their competitor under the Lanham Act if those false statements deceived consumers into choosing their product over the competitor’s. But false statements alone are…
Updated September 28, 2023 QUESTIONS OR CONSULTATION Probably not. California has one of the strongest public policies of any state prohibiting the enforcement of restrictive covenants (such as noncompete agreements) by employers against employees. In addition to voiding “every contract…
Trade secrets are valuable assets. Businesses must go to great lengths to protect their trade secrets from use or disclosure or risk losing their protection. When they are improperly acquired, used, or disclosed by others, companies must not sit on their rights or risk losing them. This is…
In a per curiam summary reversal, the US Supreme Court issued a decision on pleading standards that represents another step away from its landmark decisions in Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly and Ashcroft v. Iqbal. In Tracey L. Johnson v. City of Shelby, the Supreme Court, in a…
In most cases, California law does not permit employers to enforce a restrictive covenant against their former employees, particularly when it takes the form of a non-compete agreement. Judges in most states view these agreements with suspicion, but California courts, following California…