Morton v. Rank America, Inc.

812 F. Supp. 1062 (1993)

From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Morton v. Rank America, Inc.

United States District Court for the Central District of California
812 F. Supp. 1062 (1993)

RW

Facts

In the agreement that divided the Hard Rock Cafe chain’s American marketing rights between Peter Morton (plaintiff) and the predecessor-in-interest of Rank America, Inc. (Rank) (defendant), each party promised not to use the chain’s so-called café marks in any way that could interfere with the other party’s use of those marks. Rank went on to open the Planet Hollywood chain of restaurants, which employed an entertainment-based theme similar to the Hard Rock Cafe’s own theme. Morton sued in federal court, alleging that Rank misappropriated Hard Rock Cafe’s trade secrets. Rank responded that, because California’s version of the Uniform Trade Secrets Act (UTSA) defined misappropriation as the improper use of another party’s trade secret, Rank could not be held liable for misappropriating secrets that it co-owned with Morton.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Gadbois, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 815,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

Here's why 815,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 815,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,300 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership