Greenberg Traurig shareholder Greg Bombard returns to the Trade Secret Law Evolution Podcast for its 93rd episode, tackling two significant circuit court decisions.
Bombard, based in the firm’s Boston office, joins host Jordan to break down rulings with meaningful implications for trade secret litigation practitioners across the United States.
The first case under discussion comes from the Federal Circuit and centres on how courts should properly measure damages in trade secret misappropriation disputes.
Calculating damages in trade secret cases has long been a contested area of law, with courts and litigants frequently disagreeing over the appropriate methodology and evidentiary standards to apply.
The Federal Circuit’s guidance on this question carries significant weight, given the court’s specialist jurisdiction over intellectual property matters and its influence on how lower courts approach these complex valuations.
The second case originates from the Fifth Circuit and raises a distinct but equally consequential question: whether trade secret misappropriation can serve as a predicate act under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, commonly known as RICO.
The Fifth Circuit’s ruling allowed misappropriation to function as a RICO predicate at the pleading stage, a development that could substantially expand the legal avenues available to plaintiffs pursuing trade secret claims.
RICO claims carry the potential for treble damages and attorneys’ fees, meaning this procedural development could dramatically alter the litigation calculus for both plaintiffs and defendants in trade secret disputes.
The episode reflects growing complexity in the trade secret landscape, where questions of damages quantification and the interplay with broader federal statutes continue to generate significant appellate activity.
Bombard and his co-host examine both decisions in detail, offering practitioners a timely analysis of how these rulings may shape strategy in future trade secret cases at the circuit level.
The Trade Secret Law Evolution Podcast is produced through Greenberg Traurig and covers emerging developments in intellectual property law, with a particular focus on trade secret litigation across US jurisdictions.