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1 Pace Intell. Prop. Sports & Ent. L.F. 1 (2011)

handle is hein.journals/pipself1 and id is 1 raw text is: Practice Guide: Post-Employment Trade Secrets in New York Stephanie Soondar1 I. INTRODUCTION Up until the Summer of 2010 Mark Hurd (Hurd) acted as Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and President of information technology giant Hewlett-Packard (HP) 2 Hurd resigned in August when an internal investigation produced evidence of inappropriate conduct that violated HP's standards of business conduct.'3 In Hurd's severance agreement Hurd waived future claims against HP in exchange for $12.2 million in severance compensation and vested and restricted stock options then-estimated at $34.6 million.4 Only a month later in September Hurd accepted Co-President and Board Member positions with competitor Oracle Corporation.5 The next day HP filed a complaint alleging breach of contract and threatened misappropriation of 6 trade secrets and demand for injunctive relief was requested. HP argued that Hurd was subject to explicit contract provisions in his employment contract and his severance agreement prohibiting such conduct.7 HP also argued that the HP trade secret data Hurd possessed would be used in his new roles at Oracle.8 Two weeks later a settlement was reached between the 1 Stephanie Soondar currently acts as Staff Mediation Counsel for construction disputes at Construction Lien Consultants, LLC. She has a background in Loss Mitigation and practice interests in Business Bankruptcy and Private Equity. She earned her J.D. from Temple University, her M.A. in International Relations from the University of Kent at Canterbury, and her B.B.A. in Economics from Temple University. She is licensed to practice in New York and New Jersey. 2 HP CEO Mark Hurd Resigns, HP.COM, (Aug. 6, 2010), http://www.hp.conhpinfo/newsroonpress/2010/100806a.html. 3 id. 4 Connie Guglielmo & Ian King & Aaron Ricadela, HP's Mark Hurd Resigns After Sexual-Harassment Probe, BLOOMBERG (Aug. 6, 2010), http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-08-06/hp-chief-mark-hurd-resigns-finance- chief-cathie-lesj ak-named-interim-ceo.html. 5 Robert Guth & Ben Worthen & Joann Lublin, HP Sues to Stop Ex-Chief's Job, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, (Sept. 8, 2010), http://online.wsj.com/article/SBI0001424052748704358904575477870066918884.html. 6 Hewlettt-Packard Company v. Mark Hurd,No. 110-cv-181699 (Superior Court of California, Santa Clara County (Sept. 7, 2010). 8 Id.