As the saying goes, hard cases make bad law. And it certainly looked improper when Sergey Aleynikov downloaded high-frequency trading ("HFT") source code as he was leaving his job as a Goldman Sachs programmer, at least to...more
On April 20, 2017, the New York Court of Appeals issued a brief order continuing former Goldman Sachs programmer Sergey Aleynikov’s eight-year voyage through the state’s and country’s legal systems. Here’s the issue: does...more
Sergey Aleynikov was tried and convicted on criminal charges by both a Federal and a New York state jury; both times, his conviction was reversed. But his luck on appeal may have run out. The Appellate Division, First...more
In 2009, Sergey Aleynikov was a computer programmer employed by Goldman Sachs to write high-frequency trading code. He accepted an offer to join a new Chicago-based company, Teza Technologies. Before he left Goldman Sachs,...more
Sergey Aleynikov’s six-year trade secret odyssey through all possible configurations of litigation, civil and criminal, federal and state, may at long last have come to an end after the New York Supreme Court recently...more
In the most recent ruling in a lengthy and procedurally complex criminal case, a New York trial court dismissed a computer programmer’s criminal conviction under New York’s Unlawful Use of Secret Scientific Material law for...more
In a stunning victory for the former Goldman Sachs programmer, New York State Justice Daniel Conviser threw out Sergey Aleynikov’s jury conviction on state law charges that he stole intellectual property from Goldman. Trade...more
Sergey Aleynikov’s six-year odyssey through the U.S. judicial systems—both federal and state—continues. Last week, Aleynikov stepped into a New York State courtroom to defend himself at trial against a pair of criminal...more
On October 16, 2013, a federal judge in New Jersey ruled that Goldman Sachs must advance the legal fees of a former employee charged with stealing Goldman’s source code. The order is the latest twist in a case that...more
On October 16, 2013, the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, in Aleynikov v. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., found that a former vice president and computer programmer was an “officer” of Goldman Sachs & Co.,...more
The Obama Administration issued a Report earlier this month, entitled "Administration Strategy on Mitigating the Theft of U.S. Trade Secrets," that sets forth its efforts to prevent trade secret misappropriation. The Report...more
The old adage that crime does not pay rings particularly true in the aftermath of two pieces of recent legislation aimed at raising the penalties for trade secret theft: the Theft of Trade Secrets Clarification Act and the...more
On December 28, 2012, President Obama signed the “Theft of Trade Secrets Clarification Act of 2012.” This new law clarifies the scope of the “Economic Espionage Act of 1996” (18 USC §§1831-39). The enactment of the new...more
On December 28, 2012, President Obama signed into law the Theft of Trade Secrets Clarification Act of 2012, (the TTSCA), S. 3642, which broadens the scope of the Economic Espionage Act of 1996 (18 U.S.C. Sections 1831-39)....more
Trade secret protection expanded to include products or services "used in or intended for use in interstate or foreign commerce." On December 28, 2012, President Barack Obama signed into law the Theft of Trade Secrets...more
On December 28, 2012, President Obama enacted the Theft of Trade Secrets Clarification Act of 2012. The Act clarifies the scope of Section 1832 of the Economic Espionage Act and attempts to reverse the Second Circuit’s recent...more