Target Corp. is on the hunt for a feisty blogger who has allegedly posted the retail giant's secrets on the Internet. The Minneapolis-based company is suing the unidentified "John Doe," who is believed to live in Georgia, in federal court for posting Target's anti-theft procedures on Web sites and various retail-employee forums on the Internet in July.
Target's lawsuit illustrates the lengths to which companies will go to protect secret information from reaching the masses, said Jason Bernstein, an Atlanta-based intellectual property attorney at Powell Goldstein LLP. He says Target is trying to send a clear message to rogue posters that the publishing of trade secrets is something the company will not stand for. "It's demonstrating to me an incredible awareness these companies have of the importance of their trade secrets and confidential information because they rely on them to increase sales and prevent theft," Bernstein said.