Recently Filed Cases

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United States of America v. United Microelectronics Corporation, et al.
September 27, 2018 | United States District Court for the Northern District of California
China-US Trade Secrets Tensions Heighten

As China and the United States continue to spar over trade-related issues, the current administration has escalated protections for misappropriation of trade secrets by Chinese-related companies.

A China-backed Taiwanese company is in the United States government’s crosshairs as an increase in espionage has begun to mount. This spawned from the most recent indictment naming the company United Microelectronic Corporation (UMC), Fuijan Jinhua Integrated Circuit and three individuals named Stephen Chen, JT ho, and Kenny Wang in a scheme to steal trade secrets valued at up to $8.75 billion. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has reached a boiling point with Chinese espionage stating, “[w]e are here to say enough is enough”.

The individuals named in the above-mentioned indictment worked for Micron’s Taiwanese subsidiary, eventually working for UMC. The allegation states that the individuals planned to steal trade secrets from Micron (a United States chip-making company) through Micron’s MMT subsidiary. The United States is taking all necessary measures to address this issue. Attorney General Sessions explained the impact on United States companies and how the U.S. plans to move forward. In response to the indictment, senior VP and general counsel of Micron, Joel Poppen, stated “Micron has invested billions of dollars over decades to develop its intellectual property. The actions announced today reinforce that criminal misappropriation will be appropriately addressed.”

The trade tensions between the United States and China have increased as technology secrets have become more valuable and the misappropriation of these products and processes have gotten out of hand.

Qualcomm Inc. v. Apple Inc.
September 24, 2018 | Superior Court of the State of California
Qualcomm Incorporated v. Apple Inc. and DOES 1 through 25

Apple is no stranger to legal disputes involving their innovative products. Recently, Apple was the subject of controversy as it was alleged to have stolen trade secrets from Qualcomm and shared them with Intel Corporation after Qualcomm allowed Apple access to its source code and tools for LTE modem chipsets. Qualcomm is claiming Apple misappropriated their trade secrets in an attempt to preserve the quality of the chips Apple purchases, but change the supplier of the chips from Qualcomm to Intel Corporation for their new iPhones.

A complaint was initially filed in November by Qualcomm claiming that Apple breached a software-licensing contract by sharing confidential details regarding Qualcomm’s chips with engineers at Intel Corporation. A motion to amend the complaint filed on Monday accuses Apple of stealing trade secrets “for the purpose of improving lower-quality modem chipsets, including those manufactured by Intel, a competitor of Qualcomm, to render such chipsets useable in Apple devices with the ultimate goal of diverting Qualcomm’s Apple-based business.”

While the lawsuit is scheduled to be heard in April 2019, the proposal of an amended complaint might push back the anticipated date.

Attia v. Google, Inc.
October 4, 2017 | County of Santa Clara, Superior Court of the State of California
Eli Attia Brings Racketeering Charges Against Google

Santa Clara Superior Court of California recently granted a motion for leave to file an amended complaint that allowed Eli Attia and Eli Attia Architect PC (“Plaintiffs”) to successfully bring racketeering claims under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act (“RICO”) in addition to the trade secret misappropriation and breach of contract claims against Google, Inc. (“Google”). Attia originally filed suit on December 5, 2014.

Eli Attia (“Attia”) is an architect who developed a technology that enables creation of more sustainable buildings faster and with lower cost. He called the technology, “Engineered Architecture” (“EA”). Google X, an affiliate of Google, approached Attia in 2010 and signed a Non-Disclosure Agreement (“NDA”) permitting Google to use Attia’s confidential information “to facilitate technical discussions concerning existing or future product development efforts by the parties.” Shortly after, the parties entered into an Inbound Services Agreement (“ISA”) and a Statement of Work (“SOW”) to build a software system capable of implementing the EA technology using Attia’s trade secrets and his “pre-existing property.” This was dubbed the “Genie Project.”

Attia alleged in the complaint that Google plotted to “squeeze out” Attia from the Genie Project and misappropriated his trade secrets by continuing to use EA and his pre-existing property without permission and compensation. Attia alleged that Google pretended to kill the Genie Project and spun it off into a new company called “Flux Factory” to further develop Attia’s technology.

In the fourth amended complaint filed on July 24, 2017, the Plaintiff’s legal team added racketeering charges against Google by claiming a pattern of trade secret thefts. The complaint uncovered six other cases in which Google engaged in a similar pattern of activity where the tech giant sought inventors, signed an NDA, boxed them out, and misappropriated their trade secrets. In the October 4, 2017 Order after hearing, the Superior Court permitted the addition in the amended complaint. Trial is scheduled for September 2018.

The case is Eli Attia et al. v. Google, Inc. et al., case number 2014-1-CV-274103, in the Superior Court of the State of California, County of Santa Clara.

Fourth Amended Complaint: http://tsi.brooklaw.edu/sites/tsi.brooklaw.edu/files/filings/attia-v-google-inc/20170724fourth-amended-complaint.pdf
Order After Hearing: http://tsi.brooklaw.edu/sites/tsi.brooklaw.edu/files/filings/attia-v-google-inc/20171004order-after-hearing.pdf

United States v. Sazonov
April 13, 2017 | United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
Former Susquehanna International Group Engineer Charged with Theft of Trading Code

Defendant Dmitry Sazonov ("Defendant" or "Sazonov"), age 44, was arrested on April 13, 2017, whereupon a criminal complaint was filed against him in United States District Court for the Southern District of New York by a Special Agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI") and federal prosecutors. The government alleges that Sazonov "attempted to steal valuable proprietary computer code that took his employer years to develop," according to Acting U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim. Sazonoz was employed for thirteen years by Susquehanna International Group ("Susquehanna"), a financial services firm headquartered in Pennsylvania with offices in Manhattan. Susquehanna's principal line of business is securities trading and other financial products. Sazonov allegedly attempted to steal "proprietary computer code for a trading platform" that Susquehanna developed. The Feds report that "the trading platform Sazonov worked on trades $300 million in options daily." The FBI's investigation revealed that "Sazonov allegedly took elaborate steps to conceal his attempted theft, including camouflaging pieces of source code within harmless-looking draft emails on his work computer." The criminal complaint alleges that Sazonov efforts to steal the code began in February 2017 when he learned his supervisor had resigned.

The Defendant is charged with one count of attempted theft of trade secrets, which carries a maximum sentence of ten years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. The charges contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the Defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Complaint: http://src.bna.com/nVJ

Waymo LLC v. Uber Technologies, Inc; Ottomotto LLC; Otto Trucking LLC
February 27, 2017 | United States District Court for the Northern District of California
Battle of Self-Driving Cars

Waymo LLC, a self-driving car startup under Alphabet (originally known as Google’s Self-Driving Car Project), filed a complaint in California’s Northern District accusing Uber of violating the Defense of Trade Secrets Act and the California Uniform Trade Secret Act, as well as patent infringement. Waymo alleges that a former Google employee, Anthony Levandowski, secretly downloaded 14,000 files of “highly confidential data” from Google’s hardware systems before resigning a month later and launching a self-driving truck startup called Otto. Uber acquired Otto in August 2016 and put Levandowski in charge of its self-driving efforts. Waymost alleges that Levandowski used the information from Google’s system to launch Otto.

The complaint very specifically names the ways in which Levandowski stole the data. The data revolves around a key piece of technology called LiDAR ("Light Detection and Ranging"), which uses high-frequency, high-power pulsing lasers to measure distances between one or more sensors and external objects to build a detailed map of the environment around the car. Waymo has invested millions in its own LiDAR hardware and alleges that Levandowski misappropriated this data in developing Otto and working for Uber.

Filed complaint: http://nyti.ms/2mMwBcA

OOO Brunswick Rail Mgt., et al. v. Sultanov, et al.
January 4, 2017 | Northern District of California
Court Grants Ex Parte Seizure Order In Part under the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA)

Defendants Richard Sultanov (“Sultanov”) and Paul Ostling (“Ostling,” collectively, “Defendants”) are former employees of OOO Brunswick Rail Management (“BRM”), a Russian limited liability company. In the Complaint, filed on January 4, 2017, BRM and Brunswick Rail Group Limited (“BRL”) (collectively “Brunswick”) allege that both Sultanov and Ostling misappropriated trade secrets throughout November and December 2016 citing the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) 18 U.S.C. Section 1836 et. seq. as a basis for federal jurisdiction. On this same day, Brunswick filed an ex parte application for a temporary restraining order (“TRO”) requesting seizure of Defendants' property containing Brunswick's trade secrets currently in Defendants' possession.

Brunswick alleges further that after observing Sultanov's behavior, which the court describes as “unusually secretive,” Brunswick reviewed his work email account and found that he had “sent several confidential documents to his personal email account without authorization; he then deleted the sent messages and emptied his trash folder.” In its ex parte application, Brunswick asserts that "Sultanov and Ostling have already disclosed and plan to continue to disclose the trade secrets to creditors in order to disadvantage Brunswick in its ongoing negotiations related to Brunswick’s debt restructuring." In reviewing Brunsick's ex parte application, the court found that the record reveals Sultanov was communicating by phone with Ostling (a former employee of Brunswick) and a new representative of one of Brunswick’s creditors, "whom Sultanov was explicitly prohibited from contacting." Brunswick's investigation also brought to light that Ostling received "unauthorized confidential materials at his personal email account (via his former personal assistant, who remained at Brunswick), which he then forwarded to the creditor’s representative and to Sultanov." Brunswick request return of its "company-issued mobile phone and laptop," but Sultanov has refused to comply.

In its decision, issued January 6, 2017, the court granted Brunwick's motion in part and denied in part. The court ordered Rackspace, Inc. and Google, Inc. to preserve all data in Defendants' email accounts. The court also directed Defendants to appear before the court to show cause why a preliminary injunction should not be issued against them and "to bring the electronic devices issued to [Sultanov] by Brunswick, including mobile phones and laptops" to surrender to the custody of the court.

UPDATE:
In subsequent motion practice, the court considered Sultanov's motion to dismiss filed on March 9, 2017. First, Sultanov argued that the court lacked both general and specific personal jurisdiction over him. Second, Sultanov asserted that his use of gmail did not confer specific personal jurisdiction over him, that his data is not in California nor would it matter if it were, and Google's terms of service also do not confer personal jurisdiction over Sultanov. Finally, Sultanov argued that exercising specific personal jurisdiction over him is not reasonable because he is a Russian citizen living in Moscow, Russia.

On June 6, 2017, the court granted Defendants' motion to dismiss without leave to amend because Brunswick failed to make a prima facie showing that personal jurisdiction exists. The court examined a $13,000 deposit in Sultanov's California checking account from Ostling around the same time as his alleged misconduct. The court posited that the "timing raises questions about the nature of the payment and its connection to the events underlying Brunswick’s allegations." In spite of this, the court held that "to establish personal jurisdiction in California, Brunswick must show more than the fact that Sultanov received a payment at a bank account that is associated with an address in Monterey. Despite having had the opportunity to conduct jurisdictional discovery— including discovery of Sultanov’s bank accounts and other financial information—Brunswick has not established that the claims in this case arise out of the payment from Ostling." Upon reaching its decision, the court directed the clerk to close to case.

Complaint: http://tsi.brooklaw.edu/cases/ooo-brunswick-rail-mgt-et-al-v-sultanov-et-al/filings/complaint
Seizure Order: http://tsi.brooklaw.edu/cases/ooo-brunswick-rail-mgt-et-al-v-sultanov-et-al/filings/ex-parte-seizure-order
Motion to Dismiss Order: http://tsi.brooklaw.edu/cases/ooo-brunswick-rail-mgt-et-al-v-sultanov-et-al/filings/motion-dismiss-order

Pfizer, Inc. v. Texas Health and Human Services Commission et al.
November 17, 2016 | Austin Division, United States District Court for the Western District of Texas
Texas Agency Sued in Trade Secrets Lawsuit

On November 17, 2016 pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, Inc. (“Pfizer”) sued Texas’s Health and Human Services Commission (“HHSC”) in federal court. Pfizer alleges that the HHSC misappropriated confidential information regarding its prices and rebate information for Texas Medicaid when it revealed the information to state lawmakers.

Pfizer claims the HHSC sent confidential detailed information regarding its drug prices and rebate protocol to two state senators. In its complaint, Pfizer argues this was a violation of 42 U.S.C. §1396r-8(b)(3)(D), which, in part, states that information disclosed by manufacturers or wholesalers is confidential, and cannot be disclosed a state agency. Furthermore, Pfizer alleges the HHSC violated a Texas law, which also prohibits the unauthorized disclosure of information obtained by the HHSC regarding drug rebate negotiations or other related trade secrets. Pfizer also claims that the HHSC has refused to specifically disclose which company information it released to the senators. Pfizer expresses concern in its complaint that the pricing information released would give competitors an unfair advantage in bidding situations.

Pfizer seeks a declaratory judgment in its favor and injunctive relief to prevent further release of its confidential information.

The case is Pfizer, Inc. v. Texas Health and Human Services Commission et al.

Pfizer’s complaint can be found here:
http://tsi.brooklaw.edu/cases/pfizer-inc-v-texas-health-and-human-services-commission-et-al/filings/pfizer-inc-v-texas-healt

America's Test Kitchen v. Christopher Kimball et al.
October 31, 2016 | Suffolk County Superior Court
America’s Test Kitchen Sues Former Host for Misappropriating Tasty Trade Secrets

America’s Test Kitchen Inc. (“Plaintiff”) owns multimedia publications and productions, including television programs such as America’s Test Kitchen, cooking magazines and books, and several websites. Plaintiff sued Christopher Kimball (“Defendant”), a celebrity chef and the former host of its TV shows. Plaintiff alleges that Defendant misappropriated its trade secrets and breached his fiduciary duty to the company. Plaintiff filed the lawsuit on October 31, 2016.

Defendant left Plaintiff’s program in November 2015, and recently developed his own program called Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street. Plaintiff alleges that Defendant created his company using its image to attract new customers, and marketed his program as an enhanced version of America’s Test Kitchen. Plaintiff also contends that Defendant stole from its collection of recipes, TV show ideas, media contacts, and subscriber information. It seems Plaintiff and Defendant did not have a formal non-compete agreement in place.

Plaintiff is seeking damages against Defendant and a disgorgement of all profits that he has derived through the use of the trade secrets he allegedly misappropriated from America’s Test Kitchen. Plaintiff’s complaint also names Melissa Baldino (Defendant’s wife), Christine Gordon, and Deborah Broide as defendants, and claims that they aided and abetted Defendant’s breach of his fiduciary duties.

The case is America’s Test Kitchen, Inc., v. Christopher Kimball et al., 1684-cv-03325.

Plaintiff’s complaint can be found here: http://tsi.brooklaw.edu/cases/americas-test-kitchen-v-christopher-kimball-et-al/filings/america%E2%80%99s-test-kitchen-sues-former-h

Maxum Petroleum, Inc. v. Hiatt et al.
September 26, 2016 | United States District Court for the District of Connecticut
Oil Company Files Federal Lawsuit After Former Employee Takes Position at Competitor

Maxum Petroleum (“Plaintiff”) filed a lawsuit in federal court for misappropriation of trade secrets under the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) and Connecticut’s Uniform Trade Secrets Act. The complaint alleges that defendant Stephen Hiatt (“Hiatt”), a former employee, wrongfully accepted a position with a competing company that would inevitably cause him to disclose insider knowledge about Plaintiff.

Plaintiff is an oil company. Stephen Hiatt worked as the Vice President of Sales for Plaintiff’s energy department for 25 years. According to Plaintiff’s complaint, Hiatt agreed not to take a position with a competitor that would require him to share information about Plaintiff’s pricing and customers. Hiatt stopped working for Plaintiff on August 31 and took a position with Chemoil, a competing company, last week. Plaintiff learned about Hiatt’s new position through email.

Plaintiff contends that by accepting the position at Chemoil, Hiatt misappropriated trade secrets under the DTSA, the Connecticut Uniform Trade Secrets Act, and brought claims for breach of contract and a violation of the Connecticut’s Uniform Trade Practices Act. Plaintiff filed the suit in the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut.

A copy of Plaintiff's complaint can be found here:
http://tsi.brooklaw.edu/cases/maxum-petroleum-inc-v-hiatt-et-al/filings/oil-company-files-federal-lawsuit-after-former-emplo

Palantir Technologies, Inc. v. Marc Abramowitz
September 1, 2016 | Santa Clara County, Supreme Court of the State of California
Former Palantir Employee Sued for Misappropriating Trade Secrets

Palantir, a data analytics company headquartered in Palo Alto, California, filed a lawsuit on September 1, 2016 alleging Marc Abramowitz (“the defendant”), one of its early investors, stole trade secrets and used them for his own benefit. Palantir filed the complaint in the Supreme Court of the State of California in Santa Clara County. It alleges that the defendant used confidential information to file false claims with the United States Patent and Trademark Office in order to obtain patents.

Defendant was an early investor with Palantir who regularly discussed some of the company’s sensitive business and trade secrets with company executives. The complaint states that the defendant used his position in the company to steal trade secrets by deceiving senior executives. Furthermore, Palantir alleges that defendant had his lawyers demand access to confidential information pursuant to Palantir’s Investors’ Rights Agreement with the defendant. The complaint states that the defendant then misappropriated this information for his personal gain by filing three patents based on the ideas he stole from Palantir.

Palantir requests a declaratory judgment that the defendant has no right to access the information he demanded under the company’s Investors’ Rights Agreement. The complaint includes multiple claims, some of which include misappropriation of trade secrets, breach of contract, and breach of the Implied Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing.

A link to Palantir's complaint can be found here: http://tsi.brooklaw.edu/cases/palantir-technologies-inc-v-marc-abramowitz/filings/former-palantir-employee-sued-misappropria

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