Legal Question in Business Law in California

I signed a contract with a non compete clause with a marketing firm. The firm did not offer social media management as a service when I signed the contract. They did include it to clients for free as a bonus if a client asked. It was not included in any of the client contracts. Does this fall under the non compete?


Asked on 6/24/15, 4:20 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Bryan Whipple Bryan R. R. Whipple, Attorney at Law

You need to be aware that so-called "non-compete clauses" are often totally unenforceable in California, which has a pretty strong statutory policy against them. I'm sorry I can't give you a complete dissertation on the subject within the limitations of a LawGuru response, but in general a contractual agreement not to compete is unenforceable unless (a) it is part of the consideration for the sale of a business, or (2) is limited to being an agreement not to disclose trade secrets. See, e.g., Business and Professions Code sections 16600-16602.5. Regarding protection of trade secrets, see Civil Code sections 3426-3426.11 (the California version of the Uniform Trade Secrets Act). It's legal to compete with the old boss, but don't steal his Rolodex on your way out.

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Answered on 6/24/15, 5:13 pm


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