BLOGS: Trade Secrets Blog

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Friday, August 23, 2013, 8/23/2013 08:14:00 AM

John Deere in Trade Secrets Dispute with Former Factory General Manager

From the Business Section of the Waterloo Cedar Falls (IA) Courier, a story concerning a trade secrets case by agricultural equipment maker Deere & Co. against the long-time general manager of its largest combine factory.


Deere is seeking injunctive relief against Eric Hansotia, who was hired by Deere competitor AGCO into a position that "significantly overlaps" his old job.

The case is pending in federal court in Illinois.

By the sound of the allegations, the case concerns both inevitable disclosure type claims, but also has claims that the defendant “In his last four days of work . . . connected portable electronic storage devices, some of which computer logs indicate contained Deere trade secrets, to his Deere computer, and he may have kept those devices after his employment ended.”
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