SDM lawyer David Shank recently prevailed in an appeal for GlobeRanger Corporation, a subsidiary of Fujitsu Ltd. that specializes in radio frequency identification (RFID) software and solutions. GlobeRanger sued German software giant Software AG for misappropriation of trade secrets related to GlobeRanger’s revolutionary iMotion Edgeware platform. After a two-week trial in federal court in Dallas, Texas, the jury returned a verdict for GlobeRanger. Software AG appealed, challenging the verdict on numerous grounds, including that GlobeRanger’s trade-secret-misappropriation claim was preempted by the Copyright Act. The Fifth Circuit rejected all of Software AG’s arguments and, in doing so, held for the first time that the Copyright Act does not preempt state-law claims for misappropriation of trade secrets. SDM’s David Shank took the lead in preparing GlobeRanger’s appellate briefing. Susman Godrey’s Ophelia Camiña, GlobeRanger’s lead counsel, presented oral argument for GlobeRanger. Prior to joining SDM, Mr. Shank represented GlobeRanger at trial with Ms. Camiña and Brian Melton, his former colleagues at Susman Godfrey.