Once rare, non-compete agreements are now everywhere. For the companies that use them, they’re a great way to ensure employee loyalty and to protect against theft of trade secrets. For the employees who are subject to them, they can be a horrible restriction on the ability to freely pursue one’s trade. So if you you’ve … Read More
The vast majority of early-stage businesses operate in what I like to call “the hairy netherworld of in-between.” This is the stage where the founders have developed a fledgling concept, generated some excitement, done some early developmental work, but not all the founders have committed to the idea full time yet. This is a natural … Read More
Most people have heard of non-compete agreements. But there’s another scenario where an employer can keep you from working for a competitor, even in the absence of a prior agreement: the Inevitable Disclosure Doctrine. Three tests must be met for a court to invoke the doctrine. 1) You must possess trade secrets that you do … Read More
The question is, “should I have a non-compete agreement with my employees?” If you’re asking, the answer is almost certainly yes. A non-compete agreement is a contract (or, perhaps more simply, a clause within an employment contract) between an employee and an employer, where the employee agrees not to enter into competition with the employer … Read More