#trade-secrets

#trade-secrets

January: the season of fresh starts-when we swear we'll finally hit the gym, drink more water, and unearth last year's journal from beneath a mountain of good intentions. Maybe, just maybe, we'll put down our phones long enough to soak up some actual daylight. In the business world, January offers the perfect opportunity for a different kind of resolution: the one that keeps your competitors from getting their hands on your secret sauce or eggnog recipe (or any other trade secret) all year long.

The lawsuits, which centered on claims that two employees stole trade secrets from one rival and passed them on to another, rocked the alternative data world. These firms have grown in scale and revenue as hedge funds and asset managers use their datasets to find differentiated intel to inform bets. Yet, it remains a relatively small industry where everyone knows everyone.

NetApp has filed a federal lawsuit against former Chief Technology Officer Jón Thorgrímur Stefánsson. The company alleges that during his employment, he used confidential information to establish a competing startup, which was acquired by rival VAST Data shortly after his departure. According to NetApp, the fact that VAST Data bought the startup Red Stapler shortly after its founding does not change the fact that VAST is not accused of involvement. The claims focus exclusively on the actions of Stefánsson and a few former colleagues.

Eight days before his employment was to end, Luo allegedly hooked up an external hard drive to his Intel laptop, but when he tried to download a file, the company's internal controls blocked the transfer, the lawsuit claimed. Five days later, the lawsuit alleged, Luo deployed a different technology, a more sophisticated gadget that resembles a small computer server, called a network storage device.

Eight days before his employment was to end, Luo allegedly hooked up an external hard drive to his Intel laptop, but when he tried to download a file, the company's internal controls blocked the transfer, the lawsuit claimed. Five days later, the lawsuit alleged, Luo deployed a different technology, a more sophisticated gadget that resembles a small computer server, called a network storage device.

NEXA claims the group used confidential information from its internal Mortgage Academy training program to benefit Platinum One Lending, a Michigan-based competitor in which Grella holds an ownership interest. NEXA also accuses Grella and Platinum One of encouraging Wake's breaches and working with her to recruit NEXA's staff to harm the company. The company calls this a civil conspiracy. The amendment builds upon the May 2025 filing.

Congress enacted the CFAA in 1986 as a criminal law statute in response to the nascent issue of computer "hacking." 18 U.S.C. § 1030. The private cause of action was added a decade later. The Act prohibits unauthorized access or access that exceeds authorized access to computers. The CFAA defines "exceeds authorized access" as accessing "a computer with authorization and [using] such access to obtain . . . information in the computer that the accesser is not entitled to obtain," while leaving "unauthorized access" undefined.

Deel's countersuit against Rippling paints the company and its CEO as motivated by jealousy, alleging a campaign to harm Deel's reputation amid accusations of corporate espionage.