Intellectual Property Law

Not Just for Hackers Anymore?

Use of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act to Respond to Theft of Information.  

January 21st - San Francisco location: Farella Braun + Martel 

January 22nd - Silicon Valley location: Garden Court Hotel, Palo Alto 

Information and registration at www.fbm.com/ABAIPRT 

A disgruntled departing employee can access computer infrastructure and copy or erase valuable files, resulting in devastating financial losses and significant disruption to a company?s overall operations. In some jurisdictions, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (the ?CFAA?) may provide a remedy for these problems. Originally enacted as a criminal statute, the CFAA was intended to protect government computers from attacks by ?outside? computer hackers.  Having been amended several times, the CFAA now offers civil plaintiffs an array of remedies as well as an entre to federal court. A split of authority has developed, however, regarding the CFAA?s applicability to employee computer abuse and regarding its application to cases regarding the theft of data and information. Join us as we discuss the CFAA and its applicability to trade secrets cases.