Zynga v. Patmore

No. CGC-12-525099 (2012)

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

Zynga v. Patmore

California Superior Court
No. CGC-12-525099 (2012)

Facts

Zynga, Inc. (plaintiff) was a California-based online social-gaming company that had created games including FarmVille, CityVille, Words With Friends, and CastleVille. In 2012, Zynga brought an action in California state court against Alan Patmore (defendant), the former general manager of Zynga’s CityVille game. Zynga alleged that Patmore had access to Zynga’s data and other trade secrets during his employment and had signed a confidentiality agreement that prevented Patmore from using or disclosing Zynga’s proprietary materials during and after his employment. Zynga alleged that, despite that confidentiality agreement, Patmore had illegally and intentionally stolen Zynga’s information prior to leaving Zynga. Specifically, Zynga claimed that Patmore had copied more than 760 Zynga files from Patmore’s Zynga-issued computer, including (1) Zynga’s internal assessment of game features, (2) past and future plans for monetizing games, (3) game-design information for a game still in development, (4) game-design documents for other unreleased games, (5) revenue information, (6) employee information, (7) strategic information, and (8) emails, including confidential communications that had been sent to Patmore and other Zynga executive staff over a 14-month period. Zynga alleged that Patmore had left Zynga to work for Kixeye, one of Zynga’s competitors in the social-gaming industry. Zynga asserted that Kixeye had not achieved Zynga’s level of success in the industry and had publicly expressed animus toward Zynga. Zynga further asserted that Kixeye could use the data that Patmore had stolen to compete more effectively with Zynga. Zynga alleged claims for trade-secret misappropriation and breach of contract. Zynga sought damages and injunctive relief that would prohibit Patmore and anyone working with Patmore from keeping, accessing, using, or disclosing any of Zynga’s data.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning ()

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