The protection of trade secrets has long been understood to be a legitimate business interest, and, traditionally, companies have used non-competition clauses to protect their trade secrets. Now, with non-competition agreements in doubt and facing greater scrutiny, companies will need to rely on other protection mechanisms.
While reasonable post-employment restrictions remain enforceable (at least in the context of confidential information), the increased hostility to them has revived interest in the use of other legal protections for proprietary business materials.
In modern times, trade secrets have long been considered mainly the province of employment lawyers dealing with more mundane issues such as customer relationships. Today, it seems trade secrets lawyers are multiplying like mushrooms after a rainstorm — coming not only from the employment bar, but also from IP, particularly the patent bar.
Intellectual property laws, including copyright, patent, trademark and trade secret laws can provide avenues for companies to protect their IP. But it's not always clear what assets are protectable and what are not.
Recognizing the value of trade secrets, many countries have successively enacted and amended laws to strengthen the protection of corporate trade secrets.
Part One of this article discussed the passing of the Economic Espionage Act to combat the growing concerns surrounding trade secret theft and the criminal components of trade secret theft. Part Two covers considerations in favor of approaching federal authorities on trade secrets theft. Part Three concludes the series with a look at the potential consequences in approaching federal authorities on trade secrets theft.
Part Two of a Three-Part Series Part One of this article discussed the passing of the Economic Espionage Act to combat the growing concerns surrounding trade secret theft and the criminal components of trade secret theft. Part Two covers considerations in favor of approaching federal authorities on trade secrets theft.
Part One of a Three-Part Series When the international theft of U.S. trade secrets escalated and became a higher priority for domestic entities, trade secrets owners faced difficult challenges in collecting evidence, pursuing civil actions against overseas actors, and successfully obtaining worthwhile and meaningful relief from civil actions alone. These challenges ultimately resulted in increased referrals, investigations, and prosecutions of trade secrets theft under the EEA by federal authorities.
When deciding whether to apply for patent protection on an innovation or whether to keep the innovation confidential as a company trade secret, there are many considerations that a business must take into account stemming from the different characteristics of each.
Earlier this year, the Ninth Circuit issued a decision affirming a district court's denial of an injunction following a finding of trade secret misappropriation. While the opinion is designated as unpublished — and therefore not precedential — the panel's reasoning sheds light on an important issue in trade secrets remedies.
