Pizza Today - August 2016 - 42

back office / LEGAL
a competitor stealing recipes and
other trade secrets stands a real
worry. With such information in
hand, a competitor can then capture
market share and strengthen its
business while weakening the original eatery.
Frustrating and unfortunate as
that might be, the victimized pizzeria might have little recourse. Quite
often, the problem is the result of
leadership's own missteps or the
expense of litigation makes even
warrantable legal action prohibitive.
The only real course of action many
have is to simply defeat the offender
in the marketplace.
"The practical problems that happen after you suspect someone has
stolen your intellectual property are
what make this issue a real concern,"
says Michael Weil, an attorney in
the San Francisco office of Orrick,
Herrington & Sutcliffe who specializes in trade secret litigation.
One of the most common fact
patterns attorney Peter Afrasiabi

BY DANIEL P. SMITH / PHOTOS BY JOSH KEOWN
New Jersey-based Emma's Brick Oven Pizza has trademarked several of its menu items.

CURBING COPYCATS

How to best protect your recipes and trade secrets

T

he headlines alone are
enough to seize the attention of pizzeria operators who have toiled to define and
distinguish their concept.
"Pizzeria owner sues competitor, saying he stole family recipes,"
reads one from The News-Herald in

4 2 / P I Z Z AT O D AY. C O M / A U G U S T 2 0 1 6

Cleveland.
"Pizza War: Colony Grill owners
cry foul over imitators' use of 'secret'
recipe" blares another from the
Stamford Advocate in Connecticut.
For pizzeria operators who pour
their soul into creating and building their business, the thought of

encounters in litigation is past
employees leaving, starting their
own business and using perceived
trade secrets from their previous
place of employment to launch their
own venture.
"It's common across all industries
and happens to any business that's
profitable," says Afrasiabi, a trade
secret, intellectual property and
copyright attorney with One LLP
in southern California. "Employees
see margins, owners making money
and think they can replicate that,
and, frankly, there are things the
company could have and should
have protected better."
While a competitor cannot steal
something like a business name,
Afrasiabi says "softer things" can be
vulnerable -- the "secret sauce" of a
business such as recipes, customer
lists and pricing secrets that give the
operation its competitive edge.


http://www.PIZZATODAY.COM

Pizza Today - August 2016

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pizza Today - August 2016

Pizza Today - August 2016
Commentary
Contents
Contributors
Expo Spotlight
Interact
Conversation
Man on the Street
Respecting the Craft
Trending Recipes
Destinations
Dough Doctor
Proactive HVAC Care
Hot Toppings: Pineapple
Food Quality Control
Protecting Trade Secrets
Market Competition
Independent of the Year: Sizzle Pie, Portland, OR
Product Showcase
Pizza Today Yellow Pages
The Marketplace
Reader’s Resource
Snapped
Pizza Today - August 2016 - CT1
Pizza Today - August 2016 - CT2
Pizza Today - August 2016 - Pizza Today - August 2016
Pizza Today - August 2016 - Cover2
Pizza Today - August 2016 - Commentary
Pizza Today - August 2016 - 4
Pizza Today - August 2016 - 5
Pizza Today - August 2016 - Contents
Pizza Today - August 2016 - 7
Pizza Today - August 2016 - 8
Pizza Today - August 2016 - 9
Pizza Today - August 2016 - Contributors
Pizza Today - August 2016 - 11
Pizza Today - August 2016 - Expo Spotlight
Pizza Today - August 2016 - 13
Pizza Today - August 2016 - Interact
Pizza Today - August 2016 - 15
Pizza Today - August 2016 - Conversation
Pizza Today - August 2016 - 17
Pizza Today - August 2016 - Man on the Street
Pizza Today - August 2016 - 19
Pizza Today - August 2016 - Respecting the Craft
Pizza Today - August 2016 - 21
Pizza Today - August 2016 - Trending Recipes
Pizza Today - August 2016 - 23
Pizza Today - August 2016 - Destinations
Pizza Today - August 2016 - 25
Pizza Today - August 2016 - Dough Doctor
Pizza Today - August 2016 - 27
Pizza Today - August 2016 - 28
Pizza Today - August 2016 - 29
Pizza Today - August 2016 - Proactive HVAC Care
Pizza Today - August 2016 - 31
Pizza Today - August 2016 - 32
Pizza Today - August 2016 - 33
Pizza Today - August 2016 - Hot Toppings: Pineapple
Pizza Today - August 2016 - 35
Pizza Today - August 2016 - 36
Pizza Today - August 2016 - 37
Pizza Today - August 2016 - Food Quality Control
Pizza Today - August 2016 - 39
Pizza Today - August 2016 - 40
Pizza Today - August 2016 - 41
Pizza Today - August 2016 - Protecting Trade Secrets
Pizza Today - August 2016 - 43
Pizza Today - August 2016 - 44
Pizza Today - August 2016 - 45
Pizza Today - August 2016 - Market Competition
Pizza Today - August 2016 - 47
Pizza Today - August 2016 - 48
Pizza Today - August 2016 - 49
Pizza Today - August 2016 - Independent of the Year: Sizzle Pie, Portland, OR
Pizza Today - August 2016 - 51
Pizza Today - August 2016 - 52
Pizza Today - August 2016 - 53
Pizza Today - August 2016 - 54
Pizza Today - August 2016 - 55
Pizza Today - August 2016 - 56
Pizza Today - August 2016 - 57
Pizza Today - August 2016 - 58
Pizza Today - August 2016 - 59
Pizza Today - August 2016 - 60
Pizza Today - August 2016 - Product Showcase
Pizza Today - August 2016 - 62
Pizza Today - August 2016 - 63
Pizza Today - August 2016 - Pizza Today Yellow Pages
Pizza Today - August 2016 - 65
Pizza Today - August 2016 - 66
Pizza Today - August 2016 - 67
Pizza Today - August 2016 - 68
Pizza Today - August 2016 - 69
Pizza Today - August 2016 - 70
Pizza Today - August 2016 - 71
Pizza Today - August 2016 - The Marketplace
Pizza Today - August 2016 - 73
Pizza Today - August 2016 - 74
Pizza Today - August 2016 - 75
Pizza Today - August 2016 - 76
Pizza Today - August 2016 - 77
Pizza Today - August 2016 - 78
Pizza Today - August 2016 - 79
Pizza Today - August 2016 - 80
Pizza Today - August 2016 - Reader’s Resource
Pizza Today - August 2016 - Snapped
Pizza Today - August 2016 - Cover3
Pizza Today - August 2016 - Cover4
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