How The FTC Noncompete Rule Impacts Your Intellectual Property

On April 23, 2024, the FTC adopted a comprehensive ban on noncompetes. The FTC's noncompete ban affects both intellectual property protection and employment agreements/procedures. We recommend consulting with your Wolf Greenfield intellectual property counsel and your employment counsel to discuss next steps for your business well before the ban is enacted.

OVERVIEW

When the ban goes into effect (120 days from publication in the Federal Register), employers will be prohibited from entering into new noncompetes with all workers and will be prohibited from enforcing existing noncompetes against workers who are not senior executives. The ban covers all conditions of employment that prohibit a worker from, penalize a worker for, or function to prevent a worker from seeking or accepting work for a different person or company in the US, or operating a business in the US. Employers also will be required to give notice before the effective date to workers whose