Traverse Internet Law Federal Court Report: February 2010 Trade Secret Violation Lawsuits

Traverse Internet Law Disclaimer

The facts are unproven allegations of the Plaintiff and all commentary is based upon the allegations, the truthfulness and accuracy of which are likely in dispute.


CAPTIVE CONCEPTS, LLC v. ARTHUR J. WILLIAMS, ET AL.
CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA (LOS ANGELES)
2:10-CV-01230
FILED: 2/18/2010

The misappropriation of trade secrets because “Plaintiff’s website is confidential and proprietary information owned by Plaintiff” likely won’t be successful. The reason for bringing a trade secret claim is because many states enhance damages, enable the recovery of attorneys’ fees, and/or have a far lower threshold for obtaining injunctive relief. HTML that is readily available through the “view source” function of a browser can certainly be protected by copyright, but not protected as a trade secret. Always consider the remedies available, what you can recover and how quickly you might be able to attack a problem, in deciding upon how you are going to proceed. Decisions made early in a dispute can often define the course of the litigation, the expense involved in pursuing the case, and of course the outcome.

The Plaintiff and Defendants apparently had some type of relationship in which they collaborated in offering printed materials and artwork online. Defendants are alleged to have copied the Plaintiff’s website and launched it surreptitiously in order to compete against the Plaintiff.

Claims for relief include copyright infringement, misappropriation of trade secrets, unfair competition, and tortious interference with prospective business advantage. Plaintiff requests injunctive relief, an accounting of profits, compensatory damages, consequential damages, exemplary damages, cost of suit, attorney’s fees and other legal costs. Traverse Internet Law Cross-Reference Number 1407.