Review the facts, and the arguments of each party in the case. The issue is: should the CIO Speaker Bureau LinkedIn grou
Posted: Wed May 04, 2022 7:48 am
Review the facts, and the arguments of each party in the case.
The issue is: should the CIO Speaker Bureau LinkedIn group be considered a trade secret for CDM or did Simms have rights to the group?
Review the section on Trade Secrets in Ch. 27 to help you with your decision.
1. What are the requirements for a trade secret?
2. Does the group satisfy the requirements?
As the judge, decide for one party or the other. State your reasoning. Go beyond reiterating the arguments given in the text. Also, don't rely on your instinct.
You Be the Judge CDM Media USA, Inc. v. Simms 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 37458; 2015 WL 1399050 N.D. III., 2015 Facts: Robert Simms worked for CDM Media USA, a marketing company focused on the technology industry. As CDM's point person for social media, Simms created, controlled, and managed various social media groups and profiles to promote his employer. LinkedIn is a leading social media site for profes- sional and business networking. The site's user agree- ment informs its members that "your account belongs to you." Through his personal LinkedIn account and on behalf of CDM, Simms launched a LinkedIn group. called the CIO Speaker Bureau. This private online community sought to bring together technology executives interested in CDM's services. Simms adopted LinkedIn's strictest privacy setting, so the names of Bureau members and their communications were not available to the public. at large. Over time, the group grew to 679 members and became a valuable source of clients for CDM. Four years later, Simms left to work for a technology company called Box, which was one of CDM's largest cli- ents. Upon departure, Simms refused to relinquish control of the LinkedIn group or to provide CDM with the group's membership list. CDM sued Simms for misappropriation, arguing that the LinkedIn members were a company trade. secret. You Be the Judge: Is the list of members in a Linkedin group a trade secret? Argument for Plaintiff: Trade secret law prevents depart ing employees from taking valuable information. CDM spent significant time and money over four years to develop the Bureau. It was an exclusive group, with access limited by strict privacy settings and containing information extremely valuable to any CDM competitor. Although Simms used his personal LinkedIn account to create the group, he gathered this information as part of his job at CDM. He cannot take CDM's secret client list to a new employer. Argument for Defendant: Membership of a Linkedin group cannot be a trade secret for the simple reason that it is not secret. Although membership is not widely known neither the existence of the group nor its composition is secret. CDM announced the creation of the group through a press release. Members know each other and there is nothing confidential about their identities or interaction (which, after all, is the point of social networking!). Also LinkedIn's terms are clear: The account belongs to the individual user who created it, which in this case is Simms If CDM was so interested in its client list, it should have taken other steps to protect it.
The issue is: should the CIO Speaker Bureau LinkedIn group be considered a trade secret for CDM or did Simms have rights to the group?
Review the section on Trade Secrets in Ch. 27 to help you with your decision.
1. What are the requirements for a trade secret?
2. Does the group satisfy the requirements?
As the judge, decide for one party or the other. State your reasoning. Go beyond reiterating the arguments given in the text. Also, don't rely on your instinct.
You Be the Judge CDM Media USA, Inc. v. Simms 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 37458; 2015 WL 1399050 N.D. III., 2015 Facts: Robert Simms worked for CDM Media USA, a marketing company focused on the technology industry. As CDM's point person for social media, Simms created, controlled, and managed various social media groups and profiles to promote his employer. LinkedIn is a leading social media site for profes- sional and business networking. The site's user agree- ment informs its members that "your account belongs to you." Through his personal LinkedIn account and on behalf of CDM, Simms launched a LinkedIn group. called the CIO Speaker Bureau. This private online community sought to bring together technology executives interested in CDM's services. Simms adopted LinkedIn's strictest privacy setting, so the names of Bureau members and their communications were not available to the public. at large. Over time, the group grew to 679 members and became a valuable source of clients for CDM. Four years later, Simms left to work for a technology company called Box, which was one of CDM's largest cli- ents. Upon departure, Simms refused to relinquish control of the LinkedIn group or to provide CDM with the group's membership list. CDM sued Simms for misappropriation, arguing that the LinkedIn members were a company trade. secret. You Be the Judge: Is the list of members in a Linkedin group a trade secret? Argument for Plaintiff: Trade secret law prevents depart ing employees from taking valuable information. CDM spent significant time and money over four years to develop the Bureau. It was an exclusive group, with access limited by strict privacy settings and containing information extremely valuable to any CDM competitor. Although Simms used his personal LinkedIn account to create the group, he gathered this information as part of his job at CDM. He cannot take CDM's secret client list to a new employer. Argument for Defendant: Membership of a Linkedin group cannot be a trade secret for the simple reason that it is not secret. Although membership is not widely known neither the existence of the group nor its composition is secret. CDM announced the creation of the group through a press release. Members know each other and there is nothing confidential about their identities or interaction (which, after all, is the point of social networking!). Also LinkedIn's terms are clear: The account belongs to the individual user who created it, which in this case is Simms If CDM was so interested in its client list, it should have taken other steps to protect it.