Complimentary On-Demand Webinar: Employee Confidential Information & Inventions Assignment Agreement Legal Update (8-29-23 Recording)

Failure to adequately protect confidential business information, and deficient protection of intellectual property ownership, can lead to disastrous consequences for employers. While many employers recognize the necessity of requiring employees to sign employee confidential information and inventions assignment agreements, on numerous occasions California courts have invalided such agreements (in whole or in part) when they were out of sync with evolving interpretations of California law. In Alberto v. Cambrian Homecare, for example, the California Court of Appeal recently ruled that some relatively common provisions in employee confidentiality and invention assignments agreements were "unconscionable" (e.g., waiving the need for the employer to post a bond to obtain an injunction).

Watch this complimentary on-demand webinar for a review of:

• Why it's important for many employers (in particular technology companies) to require employees to sign employee confidential information and invention assignment agreements.
• Essential provisions of such agreements, including appropriate assignment of inventions not automatically covered under “work for hire” copyright principles, carefully distinguishing between intellectual property developed by employees within or without the scope of their employment under California Labor Code Section 2870, and appropriate licenses to employers for employee intellectual property incorporated into the employer technology, and “moral rights” clauses.
• Common mistakes employers make in drafting such agreements, including how overly broad definitions of "confidential information," and other overly aggressive provisions, can backfire.
• California's legal prohibitions against non-competition and non-solicitation clauses.

Attendees will receive detailed PowerPoint slides. Some time will also be reserved for answering attendee questions. Please note that the webinar will not provide attendees with a standard form of confidential information and inventions assignment agreement, due to the importance of working directly with legal counsel to develop customized forms. Clients of Hixson Nagatani LLP may request assistance from any of the firm’s attorneys to review and update such agreements, or provide model forms.

Your presenters will be attorneys Ray Hixson of the law firm Hixson Nagatani LLP, and Melody Torbati of VLP Law Group (and a member of its Technology Transactions Practice Group).

Hixson Nagatani LLP advises and represents employers in a wide range of employment law matters. The firm provides advice and counsel on proactive steps that employers should take to ensure compliance and minimize legal risks, including with respect to creating and updating personnel policies and practices, personnel-related forms, risk assessment of contemplated personnel actions, and managers' legal training. The firm also defends employers against actual and threatened employee claims, including claims made in state and federal courts, arbitration, and government agencies.

VLP Law Group LLP offers a broad variety of business and transactional services to companies, financial institutions, investors and businesses. Our attorneys provide counsel and strategic representation in a diverse range of practice areas. VLP clients include businesses and enterprises of all sizes — from entrepreneurs and early-stage startups to Fortune 100 companies operating in varied global industries

Registrants will be able to download several handouts (by clicking the gotwebinar handouts icon), including a handout of the slides, and several model forms related to the program topics.

This is an edited recording of a webinar presented by Ray Hixson and Melody Torbati on August 29, 2023. Please note that the webinar does not address changes in the law since the original program date. Please also note that the webinar provides only general information about the law, and does not constitute legal advice. Companies or individual seeking legal advice should retain counsel.

Please note that HR and attorney continuing education credits are not available for watching this recorded program.

You may access the program’s handouts by clicking the gotowebinar handouts icon.