Jane Schlicht Quoted in Article Discussing Lawsuit Filed Under New Defend Trade Secrets Act

Jane C. Schlicht, a Milwaukee-based Intellectual Property Practice partner at Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP, was quoted in the article "City of Miami Beach Faces Trade Secrets Complaint From Builders" published by World Intellectual Property Review on May 18, 2016. 

The article discusses how a Virginia-based building company has filed one of the first lawsuits under the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA), which President Obama signed into law last week. The company alleges that the City of Miami Beach improperly passed on confidential information to an electricians’ union.

States Ms. Schlicht in the article, "Conspicuously absent from the allegations in the complaint is the existence of a confidentiality agreement. If there is no confidentiality agreement or confidentiality terms in the subcontractor agreement, defendants may challenge whether the plaintiff took reasonable steps to protect the secrecy of the information and seek dismissal of both the DTSA claim and the Florida state claim." As noted in the article, she also believes that "defendants may move to dismiss the DTSA claim on the grounds that the alleged misappropriation occurred in March 2016, 'before the act became effective.'"

Ms. Schlicht focuses her practice in complex business and intellectual property litigation and contracts that are related to these areas. She has substantial experience in the litigation of disputes at both the state and federal levels throughout the country. Ms. Schlicht counsels and advises her clients on matters involving patents, trademarks and copyright infringement, as well as disputes involving restrictive covenants and trade secrets. She also handles trademark and copyright registrations and Trademark Trial & Appeal Board (TTAB) proceedings, and counsels her clients in business contracts and transactions.