Jane Schlicht Quoted in Article on Precedent-Setting Rejection of DTSA Suit

Jane C. Schlicht, a Milwaukee-based Intellectual Property Practice partner at Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP, was quoted in the article "First Defend Trade Secrets Act Case Rejected," published by Intellectual Property Magazine on August 15, 2016.

The article focuses on the U.S District Court for the Southern District of Florida's decision in M.C. Dean V. City of Miami Beach, No. 16-21731. In that case, the court dismissed one of the first lawsuits brought under the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA), a federal law designed to protect trade secrets. The court found that plaintiff failed to show it took reasonable steps to protect the privacy of payroll information that it claimed a union wrongly obtained from the City of Miami Beach. Said Ms. Schlicht in the article, "The [. . .] dismissal [. . .] highlights how critical it is for businesses to identify and inventory their trade secrets and implement the necessary precautions to protect their secrecy[.] Failure to do so can have devastating results[.]" She added, "[Plaintiff] failed to establish it took reasonable steps to protect the secrecy of the claimed trade secrets, in particular noting the complaint did not allege the agreement by which [plaintiff] disclosed certain information claimed to be a trade secret imposed an obligation to protect the secrecy of the information."

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.