By: Arik Hesseldahl

CYBERSPACE POLICY REPORT

In a 38-page report released May 29 on the government's 60-day review of cyberspace policy, the Administration said the nation is at a "crossroads," where digital information permeates national life, but that it's also using infrastructure which is inherently insecure and vulnerable to attacks that can cause devastating disruptions.

As part of its effort to address national cybersecurity concerns, the Obama Administration is urging closer cooperation and more robust information-sharing between the government and private industry. It's the private sector that builds and operates most of the systems, from computers and the software running on them to the telecommunications networks that connect them.

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By GARDINER HARRIS

The Obama administration plans to announce on Tuesday that it is setting up a task force within the agency to recommend ways to reveal more information about F.D.A. decisions, possibly including the disclosure of now secret data about drugs and devices under study.

The task will be complicated. Agency confidentiality decisions are governed by several interconnected laws, including the Federal Trade Secrets Act. Changing them would "involve more than one Congressional committee and impact thousands and thousands of companies, and thus would be an extremely difficult legislative path," said Peter Barton Hutt, a former general counsel to the agency.

"Many people have been harmed over the last decade because the F.D.A. has treated clinical trial results of drugs and devices as trade secrets," said Dr. Steven Nissen, a cardiologist at the Cleveland Clinic who has campaigned for the release of such information.

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By: GILLIAN FLACCUS
Associated Press Writer

SANTA ANA, Calif.--Chung, a Chinese-born engineer, is accused of working as a spy for China for more than 30 years while employed at Rockwell International and then Boeing Co. Chung has pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy, economic espionage, lying to federal agents, obstruction of justice and acting as a foreign agent.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg Staples told Carney in his opening statement that the lifeblood of Rockwell International and Boeing Co. was the secret information they developed to build the space shuttle and keep ahead of international competition. The information Chung stole took millions of dollars to develop and was critical to the nation's space program, he said.

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By: Chris Walters

A North Carolina woman out walking her dog last month was sprayed in the face with a gypsy moth pesticide, and subsequently developed "a severe rash and other flu-like symptoms, breathing complications, and nausea for several days." Unfortunately, her doctor can't treat her properly because the company that makes the spray won't tell him what's in it.

North Carolina's Department of Agriculture and Consumer Sciences (NCDACS) has opened an investigation, but it looks like they're just investigating why the pilot was out of range. There doesn't appear to be any move on their part to force Valent Biosciences Corp. to tell the woman's doctor what's in the spray.

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By: KARA SCANNELL

The Securities and Exchange Commission plans to propose that companies disclose in general terms how they compensate lower-ranking employees, expanding disclosures for the first time beyond the executive suite.

The proposals wouldn't require companies to say how much they pay these star performers, but they would have to disclose in more-general terms how lower-ranking employees are paid, especially when it affects the company's overall risk management. That would apply in particular to financial firms, where traders have received big bonuses for executing trades that put the entire company in danger.

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By: Steven Cook
Gazette Reporter

Alleged thefts of Price Chopper advertising fliers in the Southern Tier have prompted the Rotterdam-based supermarket chain to file a $20 million lawsuit against a competitor.

Giant, the suit alleges, used those trade secrets to gain a competitive advantage over Price Chopper and may have been taking trade secrets for years.

The alleged conspiracy, according to the suit, was rooted in newspaper advertising deadlines, with Price Chopper's Sunday insert in the Binghamton newspaper being due on Tuesdays and Giant's advertising in the actual paper not due until Friday or Saturday.

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By: ANDY PASZTOR

Lockheed Martin Corp. won a $30 million jury verdict against L-3 Communications Corp. last week over the use of Lockheed proprietary data to refurbish P-3 maritime patrol aircraft for South Korea.

Although the jury concluded that L-3 willfully and maliciously misused Lockheed's data, it didn't award punitive damages. As part of the verdict, Lockheed won the right to a permanent injunction barring L-3 from improper use of P-3 data in the future.

L3 Communications must pay Lockheed Martin $30 million for violating its trade secrets on a Korean P3 contract, a Georgia jury ruled. A Lockheed P-3 Orion lands at a German Navy base in Nordholz last November.

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By: Zusha Elinson

Jasmine Networks Inc.'s epic trade secret case against Marvell Semiconductor Inc., featuring a general counsel's accidental voice mail confession, was suddenly dismissed (.pdf) Wednesday. Santa Clara Superior Court Judge Thomas Edwards ruled that Jasmine doesn't have standing to sue because the bankrupt company had sold off the trade secrets in question.

Marvell's lawyers at Latham & Watkins filed a motion to dismiss the case in the midst of pretrial motions last week, nearly eight years after the case was filed.

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By: Kirsten Korosec
BNET Energy Blog

Legislation introduced this week that targets hydraulic fracturing -- a technique used to access vast new fields for drilling - is pitting the oil and gas industry against environmentalists in a debate over public health, federal versus state regulation and the protection of industry trade secrets.

The concern is that underground water could be contaminated during hydraulic fracturing or fracking. In the process, drillers pump millions of gallons of water mixed with chemicals and sand under high pressure into horizontal wells. The pressure cracks shale deposits and releases the gas. Most of the mixture is removed, although some remains. The mix is then put into open pits for evaporation and eventually trucked to a disposal site. The exact chemical mixture is considered a trade secret, although many including benzene are considered highly toxic.

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"On May 28, 2009 or eleven days prior to Apple's unveiling of their next generation iPhones, Apple sought short and indefinite confidential treatment for documents filed with the Federal Communications Commission," MacNN reports.

"In the first term, Apple requested that certain documents be withheld from the public for a short term of forty-five days. These documents included Test Setup Photographs, External Photographs, Internal Photo graphs and the iPhone's User Manual," MacNN reports.

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By: Sarah Bruyn Jones

Luna Innovations Inc. has asked a California judge to throw out a $36.3 million jury verdict against it, arguing the award is based on a flawed interpretation of law.

Even as the legal battle with Hansen Medical Inc. continues, Luna's chief operating officer said there is no bad blood between the two companies and he would be willing to work with Hansen to apply Luna's technology to Hansen's medical device.

"We would like our technology to be used in as many places and as many procedures that could help save lives," COO Scott Graeff said about the application of Luna's technology to medical devices.

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In an ongoing investigation into the sales and marketing practices of publisher Rodale, the Florida attorney general's office decided to make public the information it gathered. Rodale, publisher of Men's Health and other magazines, recently filed a petition with a Florida circuit court to keep the information private. The petition seeks to prohibit the attorney general's office from "releasing Rodale's protected trade secret documents and proprietary confidential business information," including customers' names, which the publisher was subpoenaed to produce.

Since February 2008, the state AG has been investigating "several negative marketing methods allegedly employed by Rodale, including automatic shipments and automatic subscription renewals, and whether the marketing materials for these methods adequately disclose terms and conditions."

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By Andrew Longstreth

As Crain's New York Business reported last month, Delta announced in 2007 that John F. Kennedy International Airport would become one of its major hubs so it could "challenge American Airline's dominance," even as American unveiled its new $1.4 billion terminal.

So American was understandably perturbed when Charles Imhof, its top New York sales rep, left for Delta this spring. American promptly sued, alleging in New York federal district court that Imhof, a 22-year veteran of American, decamped with documents that contained trade secrets. In May, Judge Lewis Kaplan granted American's request for a temporary restraining order that severely restricted what Imhof could do at Delta.

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By MARIA HALKIAS

An Irving-based company is suing Tom Thumb's parent, Safeway Inc., saying it stole trade secrets to create its PowerPump gasoline rewards program.

Excentus Corp. said Thursday it has filed a lawsuit against Safeway; its gift card subsidiary, Blackhawk; and its Texas chains, Tom Thumb and Randalls, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District in Abilene.

The lawsuit alleges willful and deliberate patent infringement and the misappropriation and theft of trade secrets, among other things. Privately held Excentus said it seeks injunctive and equitable relief along with unspecified damages.

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By: JIMMIE E. GATES

Two former lawyers and a former state auditor - all of them imprisoned in a judicial bribery scandal - are expected to be subpoenaed for sworn statements in an unrelated bribery case involving the same judge.

Hinds County Circuit Judge Swan Yerger signed orders last month allowing Frisby Aerospace attorneys to take statements from former lawyers Joey Langston of Booneville and Timothy Balducci of New Albany and former State Auditor Steve Patterson. Earlier this year, Yerger halted further proceedings in a $1 billion theft-of-trade-secret lawsuit to let Frisby's counsel try to determine if suspended Circuit Judge Bobby DeLaughter was improperly influenced in the case by his former boss, one-time Hinds County District Attorney Ed Peters.

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By MONA R. LITT

MINEOLA, N.Y. (CN) - A young illusionist claims older magician and TV personality Criss Angel is cheating him of royalties for his magic tricks. Jacob Spinney claims Angel agreed to pay him 25 percent of net profits for rights to Spinney's Chair Self-Levitation, Spinney's Chair Self-Suspension and Spinney's Fork-Bending gimmicks.

Spinney, 23, claims that Angel, who owns the defendant companies Angel Productions and Angel Productions Worldwide, performed Spinney's illusion on the A&E Network TV series, "Mindfreak," and accompanying DVDs and gift sets.

Spinney says his deal with Angel included royalties, plus a promise to keep his trade secrets. He says Angel's release of the how-to DVD exposes those secrets and damages his business.

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By: Guy Rogers
ENVIRONMENT & TOURISM EDITOR

THE company that wants to explore for gas in the Cranemere area of the Karoo has refused to answer questions raised in terms of the required public participation process prescribed by South African mining law.

Responding to a 38-page letter containing 110 questions from Woolhead Holdings, the owners of Samara Private Game Reserve, Bundu Gas & Oil Exploration said it was clear that Samara was opposed to the project. Consequently, it would not be responding.

Some of these questions were already raised verbally at a public meeting in Pearston a month ago, the first step of the public participation process prescribed by the Minerals and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA) - and the same thing happened.

Bundu was relying on privilege relating to trade secrets, but this technical exception to the fundamental principle of transparency was unacceptable, he said.

By: BET.com Staff

TV mega-preacher Creflo Dollar, one of several high-profile ministers being accused of fleecing their flocks to finance their lavish lifestyles, is being sued by a California businessman who says the pastor stole his business idea of charging followers a monthly fee for devotional text messages.

Also named in the lawsuit are Dollar's son, Jeremy, whom the plaintiff, Devone Lawson, alleges reneged on the deal, pilfered his trade secrets and launched "Word on the Go" three years ago.

The suit claims breach of agreements and contract, fraud, misrepresentation, interference and misappropriation of trade secrets.

Hexagon Metrology today announces a litigation victory in its dispute over alleged misappropriation of trade secrets from its market-leading PC-DMIS inspection and measurement software, which is developed and published by Hexagon Metrology division Wilcox Associates, Inc. The suit, filed against Xspect Solutions, Inc. ("Xspect"), Wenzel Group GmbH & Co. KG ("Wenzel Group"), Wenzel Prazision GmbH (" Wenzel Prazision"), and Wenzel Metromec AG ("Wenzel Metromec") arose over allegations that the above mentioned companies used and disclosed confidential information and trade secrets for the benefit of Xspect, Wenzel Group, Wenzel Prazision, and Wenzel Metromec.

The US District court of the Eastern District of Michigan, has issued a permanent injunction order against Xspect, Wenzel Group, Wenzel Prazision and Wenzel Metromec ("the parties") in the Federal Court wherein they agreed to refrain from using or disclosing any confidential or proprietary information or trade secrets of Wilcox Associates, Inc. Specifically, the parties have agreed to the injunction which enjoins them from the following actions for either a set or indefinite period of time:

The parties must not solicit for hire any technical employees of Wilcox, Hexagon Metrology, Inc. or Hexagon Holdings, Inc. (collectively, "Hexagon");
The parties may not ever use or disclose any of Hexagon's confidential, proprietary or trade secret information or property;

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By: Jim Finkle

BOSTON, June 26 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge turned down a request from International Business Machines Corp (IBM.N) to bar its former head of mergers and acquisitions from working at Dell Inc (DELL.O) over allegations that he would disclose trade secrets.

The ruling means the executive, David Johnson, will be able to continue to work as Dell's senior vice president of corporate strategy while IBM proceeds with a lawsuit that claims he violated a non-compete agreement.

Johnson has said in a court filing that he did not have access to confidential information at IBM that would provide a competitive advantage to Dell.

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By Jim Finkle

BOSTON (Reuters) - A U.S. judge turned down a request from International Business Machines Corp to bar its former head of mergers and acquisitions from working at Dell Inc over allegations that he would disclose trade secrets.

The ruling means the executive, David Johnson, will be able to continue to work as Dell's senior vice president of corporate strategy while IBM proceeds with a lawsuit that claims he violated a non-compete agreement.

M&A is a priority for both companies, which are looking to add technologies that will differentiate their products at a time when global technology spending is slumping. Dell has said it wants to increase sales of servers, storage equipment and expand its business to large corporations -- key areas for

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A former northwest suburban man who was arrested in March was indicted this week on federal charges for stealing trade secrets from his former employer, Valspar Corp., in Wheeling, federal law enforcement officials announced today. The defendant, David Yen Lee, was charged with five counts of theft of trade secrets in violation of the federal Economic Espionage Act in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury.

Between November 2008 and March 2009, Lee allegedly downloaded technical documents and materials, including trade secrets belonging to Valspar from Valspar's secure internal computer network, and removed numerous documents and other materials from Valspar's offices in Wheeling.

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