Andrew Cooper

Yes.

Yes.

Yeah, I mean, non-competes and non-solicitation are more on the side of employment law. They really deal with communications with employees that leave an organization and what they can and can't say to folks who remain inside that organization. So from a non-solicit perspective, you can't go and try to pull or entice other employees from where you're leaving.

Yeah, I mean, non-competes and non-solicitation are more on the side of employment law. They really deal with communications with employees that leave an organization and what they can and can't say to folks who remain inside that organization. So from a non-solicit perspective, you can't go and try to pull or entice other employees from where you're leaving.

On the non-compete side, it's adjacent to IP in the sense that the idea is you have developed some level of knowledge that is unique to an industry. And if you were to leave a company... the same industry and go to another company that is a competitor, you may take that knowledge with you into the competitor's shop and use it in a way that is detrimental to the company that you're leaving.

On the non-compete side, it's adjacent to IP in the sense that the idea is you have developed some level of knowledge that is unique to an industry. And if you were to leave a company... the same industry and go to another company that is a competitor, you may take that knowledge with you into the competitor's shop and use it in a way that is detrimental to the company that you're leaving.

So it's adjacent to IP because it does deal with know-how. And there are some rules about what you can restrict from the perspective of a person that is covered by a non-compete. So information that is derived from working within an organization, just as a result of you being there, you've developed a level of expertise.

So it's adjacent to IP because it does deal with know-how. And there are some rules about what you can restrict from the perspective of a person that is covered by a non-compete. So information that is derived from working within an organization, just as a result of you being there, you've developed a level of expertise.

Typically, you're not supposed to prevent someone from leveraging their expertise in order to earn a living, especially if it's in a market that's really small, like a duopoly. Going back to the Coke example, you get Coke and Pepsi, very large competitors.

Typically, you're not supposed to prevent someone from leveraging their expertise in order to earn a living, especially if it's in a market that's really small, like a duopoly. Going back to the Coke example, you get Coke and Pepsi, very large competitors.

A non-compete that is so broad that would prevent any Coca-Cola executive from moving over to PepsiCo and not being able to leverage just their generalized skills as a lawyer or a scientist or a salesperson, those would probably run afoul. And of course, this is not legal advice. You'd have to check with a lawyer. I My experience has been those typically don't fly.

A non-compete that is so broad that would prevent any Coca-Cola executive from moving over to PepsiCo and not being able to leverage just their generalized skills as a lawyer or a scientist or a salesperson, those would probably run afoul. And of course, this is not legal advice. You'd have to check with a lawyer. I My experience has been those typically don't fly.

But you can narrowly tailor non-competes in a way, as long as they are short in duration and specific to, for example, the work that an individual has done while they were there. So if you were an amazing research scientist that came up with some novel ideas,

But you can narrowly tailor non-competes in a way, as long as they are short in duration and specific to, for example, the work that an individual has done while they were there. So if you were an amazing research scientist that came up with some novel ideas,

you know, containers that extend the life of sodas, you could potentially prevent that person from going to a direct competitor and working on the exact same stuff. They can still work as a scientist, they can work on other projects, but typically you could narrowly tailor in that way. To your point, there's been a push to change non-competes at a federal level. Some companies have gone...

you know, containers that extend the life of sodas, you could potentially prevent that person from going to a direct competitor and working on the exact same stuff. They can still work as a scientist, they can work on other projects, but typically you could narrowly tailor in that way. To your point, there's been a push to change non-competes at a federal level. Some companies have gone...

too far with how they have sought to restrict the work of employees. And so the jury is still out.

too far with how they have sought to restrict the work of employees. And so the jury is still out.

Sure. So in 2018, I was the Vice President and General Counsel of EPS Airlines. Moved to Louisville, Kentucky and started the role there. I was positioned as, hey, this is an opportunity for you to take on senior leadership, large organization, 20,000 employees, and then COVID happened.

Sure. So in 2018, I was the Vice President and General Counsel of EPS Airlines. Moved to Louisville, Kentucky and started the role there. I was positioned as, hey, this is an opportunity for you to take on senior leadership, large organization, 20,000 employees, and then COVID happened.