Restrictive covenants/ biz secrets update. Go to jail!
Discussion
Restrictive covenants etc pop up here from time to time. I have recently given a paper on some recent cases in the field. PM me if you want a copy.
One of the cases is about a bloke who disobeyed a court order granted after he made off with business secrets. He went to jail for six weeks. That one is useful when Bloke in Pub says that employers are powerless to act against employees who make off with the goodies.
One of the cases is about a bloke who disobeyed a court order granted after he made off with business secrets. He went to jail for six weeks. That one is useful when Bloke in Pub says that employers are powerless to act against employees who make off with the goodies.
Breadvan72 said:
One of the cases is about a bloke who disobeyed a court order granted after he made off with business secrets. He went to jail for six weeks. That one is useful when Bloke in Pub says that employers are powerless to act against employees who make off with the goodies.
To be fair that's more about disobeying a court order though, isn't it? Breadvan72 said:
Reads like a charter for employees to steal their employers' businesses with the blessing of the court.That would be a misreading. Springboard injunctions are regularly granted but in that case the key point was this:
" ...fatally for MPT, the Judge went on to conclude that the balance of evidence, including expert evidence, on the various MPT and MattressTek machines indicated that (save in one instance) the latter’s machines had been developed without use of MPT’s confidential information. As such, no advantage had been obtained by the misuse of confidential information and no springboard injunction could be granted."
The Judge found that the small advantage gained from the misuse of confidential information was ephemeral and had already elapsed.
A springboard injunction is not a punitive measure. It is not granted to penalise a party for past wrongdoing (there are other remedies for that). It is granted to deprive a party of future benefits from wrongdoing. In that case, there weren't any.
" ...fatally for MPT, the Judge went on to conclude that the balance of evidence, including expert evidence, on the various MPT and MattressTek machines indicated that (save in one instance) the latter’s machines had been developed without use of MPT’s confidential information. As such, no advantage had been obtained by the misuse of confidential information and no springboard injunction could be granted."
The Judge found that the small advantage gained from the misuse of confidential information was ephemeral and had already elapsed.
A springboard injunction is not a punitive measure. It is not granted to penalise a party for past wrongdoing (there are other remedies for that). It is granted to deprive a party of future benefits from wrongdoing. In that case, there weren't any.
My paper is in plain English but is neither an introduction to the subject nor legal advice on an individual contract. For advice that you can rely on, you need to instruct (and pay) an insured expert. I can recommend some people (not me, as I don't do direct access work and don't come here to drum up business).
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