BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//132.216.98.100//NONSGML kigkonsult.se iCalcreator 2.20.4// BEGIN:VEVENT UID:20260706T004025EDT-56561S46xf@132.216.98.100 DTSTAMP:20260706T044025Z DESCRIPTION:Corporations increasingly rely on intellectual property law in \norder to exploit the commercial value of information. Not all\ninformati on assets\, however\, are subject to copyright and patent\nprotection. Val uable information assets also exist in the form of\nwhat might be termed h uman capital\, that is to say\, the knowledge\nof highly skilled employees . At issue is the extent to which\ncorporations may assert rights to contr ol these information assets\nonce an employee has left the firm\, particul arly when the employee\nis now working for a firm’s competitor.\nWhile cor porations may argue that their investment in human\ncapital should be prot ected\, efforts to exercise exclusive control\nfollowing termination signi ficantly affects labour mobility. Nor is\nthe concern limited to that of t he terminated employee\; a number of\ncommentators have argued that the la bour mobility of highly skilled\nemployees is an important component of re gional economic\ndevelopment in high technology industries.\nBuilding on c ommentary derived from law\, management science and\neconomics\, this work shop analyses the manner in which these\ncompeting interests play out in t he context of non-competition\nclauses in employment agreements. Some comm entators have drawn a\ndirect connection between the judicial interpretati on and\nenforcement of non-compete clauses and the success of regional\nin novation clusters such as Silicon Valley. When such clauses are\nnot enfor ced\, information is able to circulate freely amongst\nrelated and competi ng firms\, thus leading to higher levels of\ninnovation. Others argue that failing to enforce such clauses leads\nto underinvestment in innovation i ndustries\, as firms will be\nunable to prevent competitors from benefitin g from the public goods\nnature of information assets not otherwise protec ted by copyrights\nor patents.\nOf particular interest is the interaction of employment law in\nthis area and the law of confidential information. S pecifically\,\nshould questions of enforcement take into account the speci fic\ncharacteristics of the contested information asset\, such that\nnon-c ompetition agreements should be enforced in circumstances\nwhere the conte sted asset is confidential information?\nWhile non-enforcement of non-comp etition clauses may indeed\npromote increased innovation and protect impor tant public and\nprivate interests in labour mobility\, protection of conf identiality\nand the relationship of trust through which such confidences are\ncommunicated is a compelling argument for enforcement. Some are\nconv inced\, although it remains to be demonstrated\, that courts do\nindeed fa vor the enforcement of non-competition clauses when former\nemployees have left the firm with knowledge of confidential\ninformation or trade secret s. In such cases\, breach of the\ncontractual obligation is linked to faul t or tortious conduct.\nHowever\, what constitutes 'confidential informati on' in the age of\ninformation-based economy presents a difficult definiti onal\nexercise\; how are courts to disaggregate complex informational\npra ctices in order to distinguish between information “owned” by\nthe employe r and information embodied in the employee?\nAGENDA\nPlease see the CIPP's website for the latest schedule.\nRegistration: $35 (free for students an d\nmembers of the 91 community). Use the registration form [.pdf] to s ign up.\nThis activity is worth 4 hours of Mandatory Continuing Legal\nEdu cation\, as accredited by the Barreau du Québec\n\n DTSTART:20091120T183000Z DTEND:20091120T223000Z LOCATION:Chancellor Day Hall\, CA\, QC\, Montreal\, H3A 1W9\, 3644 rue Peel SUMMARY:Canned knowledge: Non-compete agreements and labor mobility of high ly skilled employees in innovation industries URL:/channels/event/canned-knowledge-non-compete-agree ments-and-labor-mobility-highly-skilled-employees-innovation-indus-111477 END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR