| Biography | Joel Bush concentrates his practice in the area of complex commercial litigation, with particular emphasis in information technology and software disputes, misappropriation of trade secrets, business torts, restrictive covenant, and technology license disputes. Mr. Bush has litigated disputes arising out of computer hardware installations, software implementations, network design projects, and other technology implementations. Mr. Bush regularly represents software and technology companies in claims based on a fraud, breach of contract, and negligence arising out of implementation problems, network design issues, software performance, and system compatibility problems. He has represented employers and employees in disputes arising out of restrictive covenant agreements. Mr. Bush routinely litigates trade secret disputes and he has particular experience in trade secret claims arising out of software development. Mr. Bush also represents commercial parties in contract, indemnity, and related claims. He has appeared in federal and state courts and is also experienced in arbitration. Joel Bush joined the firm in 1993. Before attending law school, Mr. Bush worked on Capitol Hill as the Legislative Director for a member of Congress. Mr. Bush has been recognized as a Georgia "Super Lawyer" in General Litigation by SuperLawyers magazine and is AV® rated by Martindale-Hubbell. Industries Technology & Software Experience Trade secrets litigation for a software developer, The firm served as lead counsel for a Georgia-based software developer in a factually complex theft of trade secrets case involving the copying and misappropriation of source code files relating to the e-mail attachment viewing technology used in handheld devices. Suit was filed on behalf of software developer in October 2003, alleging claims against competitors, and former executives of competitor for misappropriation of trade secrets, breach of contract, and other claims. Defendants' motion to dismiss was defeated, and developer successfully moved to compel production of defendants' source code pertaining to the technology in question, and defeated defendants' omnibus motions for summary judgment and Daubert motions. The case settled for a confidential amount shortly before a three-week trial was scheduled to begin. IPCO LLC et al., v. Cellnet Technology Inc. et al., Served as litigation counsel for B&L Tech Company Inc. (B&L), formerly known as StatSignal Systems Inc. (SSI), a mesh wireless networking systems and applications company, in connection with the defense of an alleged breach of "right of first offer" obligation purportedly contained in a series of complex patent licensing agreements. In 2004, SSI's inventor formed a separate patent licensing company, SIPCO LLC (SIPCO), and then asserted patent infringement claims against an affiliate of Landis + Gyr, Inc. (L+G). In 2006, SSI sold all of its assets, including its patent assets, to Hunt Technologies LLC (Hunt), an affiliate of L+G, in a transaction valued at $30 million. SIPCO then sued B&L for breach of an alleged "right of first offer" and pressed the Court to "unwind" B&L's 2006 asset transfer to Hunt. In 2007, the court denied SIPCO's motion for injunctive relief against B&L and Hunt. A substantial damage claim was also asserted against B&L on the contract claims. B&L filed six separate motions for summary judgments. In September 2009, the court issued an order that granted five of B&L's six motions for summary judgment. Plaintiffs' right of first offer claim against B&L and plaintiffs' extraordinarily high damage claim against B&L were fully dismissed from the case.
IPCO, LLC, et al., v. Cellnet Technology, Inc., et al., 660 F. Supp. 2d 1351 (N.D. Ga. 2009). International parental abduction (Hague): Spain, Successfully represented a foreign, left behind parent from Spain, whose two young children were wrongfully taken to the U.S. by their mother. The children were placed in our client's custody and departed to Spain where the Spanish courts will address the parents' custody dispute. Red Prairie Corp. v. Peter Schnorbach, Represented Manhattan Associates who hired an employee who had previously worked for competitor. The employee did not have a non-compete obligation in favor of former employer. After our client hired the employee, the competitor filed suit in Minneapolis alleging "inevitable disclosure" and seeking a TRO to enjoin its former employee from working for our client. We successfully defeated the motion for TRO. In March 2006, we defeated temporary restraining order sought by plaintiff (to enjoin defendant's employment with Manhattan Associates). International parental abduction (Hague): Spain, Successfully represented a foreign, left behind parent from Spain, whose two young children were wrongfully taken to the U.S. by their mother. The children were placed in our client's custody and departed to Spain where the Spanish courts will address the parents' custody dispute. *Experience gained by attorney prior to joining Kilpatrick Townsend Publications 12 November 2010, Companies Can Guard Against Trade Secret Thefts
Source: Atlanta Business Chronicle, Articles 03 September 2009, Intellectual Property Innovations Class: Protecting Your Company's IP and Technology, Podcasts 19 October 2006, December 2006 Rules Change: How to Implement An Effective Document Retention Policy Now, Legal Alerts 01 June 1993, Congressional-Executive Information Access Disputes: Legal Standards and Political Settlements
Source: Journal of Law and Politics, Articles News 21 September 2010, Kilpatrick Stockton's Joel Bush Discusses "Trade Secrets in Georgia" at Daily Report Seminar, In the News 02 September 2010, Joel Bush to Discuss "Trade Secrets in Georgia" at Daily Report Seminar, News Releases Events 08 September 2010, Trade Secrets in Georgia: Legal Requirements and Best Practices for Enforcement, Events 10 November 2009, Trade Secrets in Georgia: Legal Requirements and Best Practices for Enforcement, Events 03 September 2009, IP Innovations Class: Protecting Your Company's IP and Technology, Events 01 August 2009, Protecting Your Company's IP and Technology, Events |