By DAVE GRAM
Associated Press

Vermont lawmakers want to make it much tougher for drug company sales representatives to court doctors with free lunches and other perks designed to get their products into patients' medicine cabinets.

The work came two weeks after Attorney General William Sorrell's office issued its annual report on drug marketing efforts in the state. The report said drug companies spent nearly $3 million in Vermont in consulting fees, meals, gifts and similar expenses directed at doctors and other prescribers in the year ended June 30. But under a "trade secrets exemption" in the 2002 law, the attorney general couldn't say who was paying for or getting the food, cash payments and other gifts.

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By: R. Robin McDonald
Fulton County Daily Report

Trial is culmination of more than four years of litigation.

Today in federal court in Atlanta two of the largest defense contractors in the world will go head to head in a trial over the alleged misappropriation of trade secrets associated with the design and construction of an anti-submarine bomber used by navies around the world.

The stakes are high. Lockheed is seeking nearly $689 million in compensatory and punitive damages for what it claims were deliberate misappropriations, in violation of Lockheed licensing agreements, of proprietary specifications and designs associated with its P-3 series of marine patrol, anti-submarine aircraft.

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By Bill Brewer
Knoxnews.com

Lenoir City defense contractor EOD Technology Inc., which provides security services for the U.S. military in Iraq, is suing five former employees for $80 million and accusing them of stealing company secrets to form a competing company.

One of the former senior managers being sued, Eric W. Barton, was accused in a 2007 Army investigation of helping secure $2.5 million in contracts for EODT through inside information he received from an Air Force captain with whom he was having an extramarital affair.

EODT filed suit against Barton, Steven J. Barton, Daniel J. Smith, Kenneth D. Biles, Donald M. Patton and the company they are said to have formed -- Tennessee, Mississippi and Nevada operations of Critical Mission Support Services LLC and Vanquish Worldwide LLC.

Philip Gabriel Pettersson, aka "Stakkato," 21, a Swedish national, was indicted today on intrusion and trade secret theft charges, announced the Justice Department's Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Joseph P. Russoniello for the Northern District of California.

The five-count indictment includes one intrusion count and two trade secret misappropriation counts involving Cisco Systems Inc. (Cisco), of San Jose, Calif., which is a provider of computer network equipment and producer of Internet routers.

All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty at trial beyond a reasonable doubt. The maximum penalty for each charge of intrusion and theft of trade secrets is 10 years in prison, a three year term of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000.

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The downturn means huge challenges and tough decisions for managers and staff, from cost-cutting to redundancies. Bringing in expert interim managers could be the answer. Many senior managers with good track records have never had to manage a business in a recession.

Their minds will be on cost-cutting, restructuring, redundancies, supply chain management, margin maintenance, working capital management, and possibly even the need for short-term funding to bring about these changes. These are all areas that require specialist knowledge and expert deployment.

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BY BRAD BIGGS

Landing Jay Cutler finally has given Jerry Angelo, nearly eight years into his tenure as Bears general manager, someone he believes is capable of becoming a franchise quarterback.

That makes everyone's job at Halas Hall a little easier, but that doesn't mean the work stops. Angelo was breaking down tape of the Big Ten in his office when he recently visited with the Sun-Times. He's already working on the 2010 draft.

Angelo was asked about the blockbuster trade that brought Cutler to the Bears from Denver and how the deal has reshaped his image as the leader of the NFL's cornerstone franchise, one that hasn't been known for such bold moves.

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By: Darleen Hartley

Security controlling Lockheed Martin's computer systems apparently is tighter than their recycling program. It is being reported that one of their computers containing sensitive information about a US missile defense system was sold on eBay to a university research project that was looking for just such oversights.

Considering the economic status of the auto industry in the US, one would think intellectual property regarding design would be coveted. One of the specimens obtained as part of the university project was a hard drive they obtained before Ford launched its new Ka model. Information was marked "Confidential -Ford Motor Company - this is unpublished work which is a trade secret" Well, it's not a secret any more.

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Las Vegas Sun

The defendants are accused of releasing confidential information and trade secrets to attempt to convince Vision customers and companies it does business with to enter into new contracts with the defendants and terminate their contracts with Vision.

Defendants have also released confidential and trade secret information to the press in an attempt to defame, harass and annoy plaintiff Vision enough that'' it could lose business, the lawsuit charged.

The airline claims the defendants have misappropriated trade secrets and possibly classified information stolen from Vision. Vision's claims against the defendants include breach of contract, interfering with Vision's contractual relationships, conspiracy and racketeering.

By David Kravets

Drunken-driving convicts in Minnesota are intoxicated over a recent state high court ruling allowing defense experts to examine the source code of breath-testing machines.

The state and CMI are involved in a separate legal flap about whether the maker of the Intoxilyzer 500EN should turn over the code to the state.

In New Jersey, the court ruled to support the reliability of the apparatus.

To continue reading this interesting article from Wired.com, click here.

By: Latha Jishnu

Ben-Atar, professor of history at Fordham University of New York, is among the more interesting thinkers I've met on intellectual property (IP) issues. Why did the history professor write Trade Secrets? Apart from the usual academic reasons, he says there was another compelling motive -- to remind Americans of their past so that they have a better understanding of why piracy is now happening in other parts of the world.

You won't get many people who will tell you that America's industrial might and prosperity is founded on theft and outright piracy. There is the odd person like Doron Ben-Atar who takes pains to remind the US -- and the world -- that not too long ago, the super power was merrily engaged in stealing trade secrets from Europe to build a fledgling nation that was technologically backward.

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BY JANINE ANDERSON

California-based Clorox sued SCJ last month over the hiring of Tim Bailey, then Clorox's vice president of product supply. To keep Bailey from starting work, Clorox requested a restraining order.

SCJ has jumped on that possibility, and filed a motion Tuesday asking for dismissal of the suit. SCJ claims that the suit was improperly filed because it does not name Bailey as a party. The company contends that was a legal mistake that could merit dismissal of the lawsuit.

Clorox has never said there was a non-compete agreement, but is instead challenging Bailey's employment with SCJ -- a direct competitor in some product categories -- over Bailey's knowledge of company trade secrets.

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By: SHA:mh

Mike Holland spoke about converting enquiries into sales and told delegates that a company's first point of contact for a potential customer is often what kills a sales lead.

Mike explained: "For a start there's the telephone system. Taking too long to answer a call will see a large proportion of potential customers simply hanging up - and they won't ring back. Installing an automated system for when reception is busy may seem like a good idea - but 54 per cent of consumers say they 'hate' automated systems."

The presentation went on to talk about other barriers to successfully converting enquiries into sales and looked at the importance of 'lead nurturing' - developing a lead from a potential customer who is not yet ready to place an order until the deal can be closed.

To continue reading this article from Smye Holland Associates, click here.

By Walter F. Roche Jr.
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

The Mayo Clinic, the famed health care organization, and its data processing partner Cerner Corp. are asking a federal judge to slap a gag order on a key former employee to bar him from even speaking about a new health technology product.

In a lawsuit pending in federal court, Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo charged that "once trusted" executive Peter L. Elkin walked off with key backup data on a software program developed while he was a full-time employee. Worse yet, he has been making speeches about it, Mayo lawyers charge.

Elkin countered charging that Mayo and Cerner are blocking the free flow of technology that could be used to deal with everything from threats of bio-terrorism to epidemics such as the swine flu outbreak.

BY JOE CLEVELAND

Last year, a former Intel design engineer was charged with allegedly stealing $1 billion worth of trade secrets relating to Intel's next generation microprocessor. The engineer was working at Intel when he was hired by Advanced Micro Devices, an Intel competitor.

Shortly before leaving Intel, the engineer remotely accessed and downloaded top secret Intel documents onto his home computer. According to the FBI, the engineer planned to use this information to advance his career by drawing on it when the opportunity arose to help AMD compete against Intel. The engineer was indicted on five counts of stealing trade secrets and wire fraud and is awaiting trial.

Unfortunately, in today's world where information is just a "click" away, stories like this are becoming more and more common.

To continue reading this interesting article from Fort Worth Business Press, click here.

By NATASHA SINGER

The law, scheduled to take effect on July 1, is believed to be the most stringent state effort to regulate the marketing of medical products to doctors.

In Congress, Senators Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa, and Herb Kohl, Democrat of Wisconsin, have sponsored a bill requiring disclosure of pharmaceutical industry payments to doctors.

But Vermont has gone further with its new law, which Gov. Jim Douglas, a Republican, is expected to sign by early next month. It will require public disclosure of all payments by companies to any health care provider with authority to write prescriptions for drugs, medical devices and biologics, drugs that are typically administered by injection or infusion.

To continue reading this interesting article from The New York Times, click here.

By John Timmer

As automobiles become more complex, repairing them is requiring increasingly sophisticated tools, such as interfaces into their computerized internal diagnostic systems. Congress is now considering a bill that would give everyone equal access to the required technology.

The bill states up front that regular maintenance is critical for everything from basic safety to minimizing the environmental impact of vehicles. It also argues that car owners are entitled to the service provider of their choice when it comes to the repair and maintenance of their vehicles, and that competition among service providers helps ensure that everyone has viable choices in this regard. The threat to this comes from the fact that automakers can provide discriminatory access to the tools required for maintenance, providing them only to authorized service providers or refusing to allow individual car owners to purchase them.

To continue reading this interesting article from Ars Technica, click here.

The judge listed 11 reasons why the duty of confidence was owed, including that Skovmand was a consultant employed to develop new products; he was subject to the company's direction; much of the work was carried out by people employed by the company; the material was the result of advice from other people as well as Skovmand; and the company had paid for the raw materials used in the work.

After Justice Arnold stated the factors which would help to decide whether or not information was a trade secret, he said:
"All of these factors point more or less strongly towards the conclusion that the information contained in the Fence database, and in particular the recipes contained in that database, constituted VF's trade secrets,".

To continue reading this interesting article from OUT-LAW News, click here.

BY: VICTORIA A. CUNDIFF

The law of trade secrets is long-established: to obtain the court's assistance
in enforcing trade secret rights, the trade secret owner must consistently
take measures that are reasonable under the circumstances to protect its trade
secrets. The increased digitization of trade secrets and the increased availability
of digital tools to remove them have made the "circumstances" far more hostile
to trade secrets and far less forgiving of errors than ever before. While the law
does not require the trade secret owner to build an impenetrable fortress around
the secret, the trade secret owner that does not take these new circumstances
into account in designing a protection program has not taken reasonable measures.

This article discusses practical contractual and litigation measures trade secret owners should consider in protecting their assets and examines the benefits and limitations of various statutory tools.

In order to read this interesting article featured in the Volume 49 of IDEA -The Intellectual Property Law Review, please click on the author's link above.

By: Adam Chodak

When Lisa Bracken moved next to Divide Creek in western Colorado, she saw her 60 acres of undeveloped land as something of a wildlife refuge. But over the past few years, Bracken has watched the wildlife - especially the vegetation - die off.

Bracken blames the oil and gas company that's extracting natural gas in the area.

"The formulas are proprietary trade secrets and the companies have worked hard to give themselves a competitive edge," said Doug Hock, a spokesperson for EnCana, the gas company that's working near Bracken's land.

To continue reading this interesting article from Colorado's Online News Leader 9NEWS, click here.

By: Simone Roch
Hope Standard

"A logo is also your identify, customers see a graphic and they immediately think of you...."One of the secrets to operating a successful business in Hope is joining forces to offer your customers a wide variety of services. Romano Photo and Frames have achieved that on two levels, offering everything from being the DHL Courier drop to making sure your most treasured artwork is professionally framed. The long established business owners, Leah and Bob Romano, have also joined forces with family, after Bob Romano's younger sister, Debbie, opened her own new business in Hope, Graphic Smarts.

If you are a new business owner or one looking to spruce up your image there are a few trade secrets to marketing.

"Remember that if you are promoting your business, you are actually promoting yourself... the amount of thought and care you put into your marketing, your logo, your in-store promotions that is exactly how people are going to perceive you."

To read the complete article, click here.

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"At the moment, there are a couple too many clicks and redirects to make the process completely efficient. Sending files from the web interface isn't too complicated, but downloading sent files takes a few steps,".

To continue reading this interesting article from p2pnet news, click here.

By: AtlanTech

The privately held managed security services company has agreed to acquire the assets of VeriSign Inc.'s managed security services business, according to a Securities & Exchange Commission filing.

SecureWorks monitors corporate networks and helps protect against online attacks from crooks looking to steal financial and other information. SecureWorks, rumored to be an IPO candidate, is in an acquisition-heavy industry -- one into which Goliaths like IBM Corp. and AT&T Inc. have bludgeoning their way.

To continue reading this interesting article from Atlanta Bizjournals, click here.

BY: MAUREEN O'GARA

IBM is standing on the non-compete Johnson signed in 2005 and accuses him of misappropriating its trade secrets.

This time it's former M&A chief David Johnson who's bound for Dell. Last time it was chip guru Mark Papermaster after he was hired by Apple to be head of iPod and iPhone engineering.

Its suit claims that "Mr. Johnson, as long as he is employed by Dell, will inevitably use and/or disclose IBM trade secrets for his own benefit and for the benefit of Dell."

To read the complete article from WebSphere Journal, click here.

By: Metin Münir - Milliyet

Behind the fuss of the law drafted for de-mining the Syrian border being discussed in Parliament is who will own the land after the mines are cleared. The common belief among the opposition is that the address is evident.

Defense Minister Vecdi Gönül made the following statement in Parliament a while ago: "We opened a bid for the whole area. Of course, I cannot declare the offers made for this bid since they are trade secrets but they were over billions of dollars. It was not possible for us to cover this from the ministry's budget. Moreover, we lacked the technical expertise to bid on this."

To continue reading this interesting article from Hurriyet Daily News , click here.

The gaming industry is filled with secrets, unannounced plans and ambitious but unrevealed projects. That's why there will always be rumors and speculations flying around the Internet and landing on related websites depending on how true they are or on what they focus on.

As the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) is preparing to start next week, an inside source within Sony has revealed some very interesting aspects about the strategy of the large Japanese corporation and about what new things it will launch in the near future. Of course the biggest things are the new UMD-less PSP-Go!, which promises to lose the bulky UMD drive in favor of a digital download way of distributing games to users.

To continue reading this interesting article from Softpedia, click here.