Our weekly SoCal IP Institute meeting on Monday, May 12, 2014 will be a discussion of a recent S.D. Cal preliminary injunction decision and N.D. Cal trade secret case.  Brief synopses appear below.

In Smith v. San Diego  Americas for Safe Access (SDA), Case No. 3:130cv-01463 (S.D. Cal 4/30/14), available here:

The Court granted SDA’s motion for a preliminary injunction.  SDA has a word mark: Americans for Safe Access, and two logos, one that looks like a molecule and one that has stylized letters “ASA”.   Smith founded a similar organization and used identical marks.  The Court found evidence of consumer confusion and a significant threat to SDA’s reputation and goodwill.

In Nextdoor.com Inc. v Raj Abyyanker, Case No. C-12-5667 (N.D. Cal 4/23/13). available here:

Abyyanker developed the concept for a private social network among neighbors called Nextdoor and discovered that Lorelei in Menlo Park was the perfect neighborhood to use a test study.   He admits he disclosed this to Benchmark capital who then disclosed it to founders of Nextdoor.  The Court held there was a triable issue of fact as to both disclosure and efforts to maintain secrecy, thereby precluding summary judgment.  The court also held that disclosure  of Ab’s maximum bid on the domain name was not a trade secret because there was no confidentiality clause.

All are invited to join us in our discussion during the SoCal IP Institute meeting on Monday, May 12, 2014 at Noon in our Westlake Village office. This activity is approved for 1 hour of MCLE credit. If you will be joining us, please RSVP to Noelle Smith by 9 am Monday morning.