Trade Secrets Law and Remote Workers

Jason Balich | Wolf, Greenfield & Sacks, P.C

Jason Balich is a trial and appellate lawyer who protects clients’ technology and defends their freedom to use it. Jason’s experience includes successfully defending multiple patent owners—from manufacturers to public universities—facing inter partes review challenges at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) where the PTAB denied institution. He also focuses his practice on trade secrets. For instance, he has represented a plaintiff seeking to protect its trade secrets and a patent owner looking to stop a competitor’s infringement. In addition, Jason regularly represents defendants in patent and commercial litigation, including Hatch-Waxman ANDA litigation, before district courts and at the International Trade Commission. Jason’s counseling and litigation experience spans a diverse set of industries including pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, medical devices, data storage media, electro-hydraulic devices, military equipment, and consumer electronics. Jason studied engineering at Princeton and is the co-inventor of four US patents as a product development engineer for 3M.

Arden Bonzo | Wolf, Greenfield & Sacks, P.C

Arden Bonzo is a patent litigator with experience supporting case with everything from preparation of litigation documents to case research. She serves clients in a variety of sectors, including the electrical and biotechnology industries. While in law school, Arden participated in the Boston College Civil Litigation Clinic and the Boston College Entrepreneurship and Innovation Clinic (EIC). Prior to law school, Arden studied industrial engineering and received a master’s degree in science, technology, and public policy from Rochester Institute of Technology.

Varant Yegparian | Hicks Johnson PLLC

Varant’s track record of exceptional results also extends to the tech sector. He routinely prosecutes and defends claims in connection with various forms of cutting-edge technology, ranging from smart infrastructure to new biomedical processes. Recently, after a weeklong arbitration processing, he obtained a full dismissal of all claims involving the billing technology of a global telecommunications company. Another notable victory entailed obtaining an early dismissal of claims of trade secret theft and unfair competition for a cloud computing AI startup. Both cases included a six-figure award of attorneys’ fees.

Session I – Trade Secrets 101 | 12:00pm – 2:10pm

• What a trade secret is
• Why trade secrets are kept
• When to protect technology by patent versus trade secret

Break | 1:00pm – 1:10pm

• How trade secret protection is obtained (and lost)
• Trade secret best practices
• Consequences of failure to protect trade secrets

Break | 2:10pm – 2:20pm

Session II – Understanding Trade Secrets and Remote Workers | 2:20pm – 3:20pm

• Understanding trade secrets
  • Tie in from trade secrets 101, non-compete agreements, and their relevance in the remote work era
  • Key differences between trade secrets and other forms of intellectual property
• Challenges and opportunities of remote work
  • Unique challenges remote work presents to trade secret protection
  • Cases – specific cases, including the guy who listened in on his wife
  • Opportunities for enhancing trade secret protection in remote work environments
  • Adapting trade secret policies and procedures to remote work settings
  • Addressing technology challenges and vulnerabilities in remote work environments