Re-Claiming Credit

Sherman & Howard L.L.C.
Contact

When an employee leaves and sets up a competing business, may he or she claim experience for work done by the former employer? The Seventh Circuit recently considered whether an architect – a former employee of a firm – is entitled to advertise his personal experience “designing” the firm’s high profile projects. The issue arose under the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a). The court allowed the claim against the architect to go forward – for all the court could tell from the complaint, the architect might have been falsely claiming involvement in the project, or might have been falsely claiming to be the principal designer or one of the principal designers. The court ruled however that, when the facts fit, a former employer might have a Lanham Act claim against a former employee who falsely claims credit for the employer’s work. Truthfully claiming the experience probably does not raise a Lanham Act claim. M. Arthur Gensler Jr. & Associates, Inc. v. Strabala, No. 12-2256 (7th Cir. Aug. 21, 2014).

 

DISCLAIMER: Because of the generality of this update, the information provided herein may not be applicable in all situations and should not be acted upon without specific legal advice based on particular situations.

© Sherman & Howard L.L.C. | Attorney Advertising

Written by:

Sherman & Howard L.L.C.
Contact
more
less

PUBLISH YOUR CONTENT ON JD SUPRA NOW

  • Increased visibility
  • Actionable analytics
  • Ongoing guidance

Sherman & Howard L.L.C. on:

Reporters on Deadline

"My best business intelligence, in one easy email…"

Your first step to building a free, personalized, morning email brief covering pertinent authors and topics on JD Supra:
*By using the service, you signify your acceptance of JD Supra's Privacy Policy.
Custom Email Digest
- hide
- hide