Balough
December 8, 2016
(November 15, 2016) The question of how aspiring chefs can use trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets to protect their valuable recipes and presentations was the focus of a presentation by Balough Law Offices, LLC to the Chicago Bar Assn.’s Creative Arts and Food Law Committees. Cheryl Dancey Balough explained that while recipes themselves are not […]
Balough
August 28, 2016
(August 28, 2016) Did the nephew of Col. Sanders just give away the family secret 11 herbs and spices used in the KFC recipe? That’s what the Chicago Tribune thinks. A reporter says 67-year-old Joe Ledington showed him a family scrapbook that included a copy of Claudia Sanders’ will. She was the colonel’s second wife. […]
Balough
October 23, 2014
A company that designed an enclosure for electronic tablets cannot sue a manufacturer with whom it shared the design pursuant to a confidentiality agreement because the disclosing company failed to take reasonable measures to protect its trade secret. nClosures Inc. developed a metal case for electronic tablets such as iPads. In 2011, the company signed […]
Balough
December 17, 2013
It’s not a federal offense to use your company computer for personal browsing, even if it is contrary to corporate policy—at least in the Ninth Circuit. The appellate court upheld the dismissal by the trial court of criminal charges under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) against David Nosal, a former employee of the executive search […]
Balough
December 16, 2013
For purposes of determining whether a contract not to compete is enforceable, Illinois courts must consider the legitimate business interests of the former employer, the Illinois Supreme Court found. The court said that in determining whether a legitimate business interest exists, judges must look to the “totality of the facts and circumstances of the individual […]
Balough
December 15, 2013
Hewlett-Packard Company has sued Mark Hurd, HP’s former chairman and president, for breach of contract and threatened misappropriation of trade secrets for taking the position of co-president of Oracle Corporation. The HP complaint seeks to enjoin Hurd from taking the position with Oracle, a competitor, “in which he will serve in a capacity that will make it […]
Balough
December 15, 2013
A former Bimbo Bakeries executive’s plan to go to work for a competitor turned into a recipe for an injunction. Chris Botticella, a former vice president of operations for California for Bimbo, decided to take a similar position with Interstate Brands Corporation, a predecessor company to Hostess Brands, Inc. His actions following the decision to […]
Balough
December 14, 2013
It’s hard to keep a trade secret in a small town, especially if the secret is a customer list for providing computer networking service. An Illinois appellate court reversed the trial court’s finding that an existing and potential customer list was a trade secret. The court also dissolved an injunction that prevented former employees from […]
Balough
December 13, 2013
A trade secret is usually “rich in detail” since general terms will usually be widely known and thus not capable of being protected, the Seventh Circuit said, affirming a judgment for the defendant. The defendant had filed for a patent for a process that was disclosed to it in general terms by the plaintiff. The […]
Balough
December 13, 2013
Bloggers, the First Amendment and Trade Secrets will be the topic of a presentation by Richard C. Balough at the annual Intellectual Property Law Assn. of Chicago’s Trade Secret Seminar. The seminar will be from 1 to 5 p.m. on December 7, 2005 at the John Marshall Law School. In addition to Mr. Balough, Mark […]
