When Employees Commit Electronic Theft

In Business Law by Coolidge Wall

For business owners, holding an edge in the market depends on safe communication and storage of data and proprietary information. While theft of trade secrets once conjured up the image of cumbersome files bring stuffed into a briefcase, loss of essential data now occurs with the simple click of a mouse. In August, two New York men were charged with compiling and stealing information from their employer with the intention of using it to start their own business. The info allegedly taken from their employer, Manhattan-based Flow Traders, included proprietary computer code, trade strategies, and valuation algorithms. According to the …

Supreme Court Asked to Decide If Corporations Have Religious Freedom

In Business Law, Healthcare Reform by Coolidge Wall

As discussed in an earlier blog post, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) created a controversy about whether for-profit corporations have religious freedom. The issue concerns the requirement under ACA that health insurance sufficient to avoid penalties must include coverage for certain forms of birth control. Businesses closely held by families with strong religious convictions are objecting to this requirement as an infringement of religious freedom. In June Hobby Lobby and Mardel, Christian corporations owned by the same family, received a court order preventing the federal government from enforcing the contraception requirement and any related penalties. Also in …