Did California’s Noncompete Ban Fuel Silicon Valley Innovation?

California is one of just three states where noncompete agreements are almost completely banned. California is also the home of Silicon Valley, the global hub of technological innovation. Is that just a coincidence? Or would Silicon Valley be as successful even if noncompete agreements were allowed?

This week on UnCommon Law, part three of our ongoing series on the Federal Trade Commission’s proposal to ban noncompete agreements nationwide. Is California’s ban on noncompete agreements really a key component to Silicon Valley’s success?

• Evan Starr, professor at University of Maryland
• Margaret O’Mara, professor at the University of Washington
• Ronald Gilson, professor emeritus at Columbia Law School and Stanford Law School
• David Schultz, host of Bloomberg Law’s On the Merits

Listen and subscribe to UnCommon Law on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Megaphone, or Audible. To comment on this episode, tag @BLaw on Twitter!

To contact the reporter on this story: Matthew S. Schwartz at mschwartz@bloombergindustry.com

To contact the executive producer responsible for this story: Josh Block at jblock@bloombergindustry.com

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