Trade Secret Law: How Secrecy Becomes Protectable Intellectual Property

72 questions on trade secret law, answered and cited by the UpLaw editorial team.

• Are punitive damages and attorney's fees available in trade secret cases?
• Can a customer list be a trade secret?
• Can a federal court enjoin someone from taking a new job in a trade secret case?
• Can a trade secret be passed down as an estate asset?
• Can conduct be "improper means" even if it is legal?
• Can sending a cease-and-desist letter foreclose a civil seizure motion?
• Can you have both a patent and a trade secret on the same invention?
• Can you register a copyright in source code without losing trade secret protection?
• Did Kewanee Oil v. Bicron settle whether patent law preempts trade secret law?
• Do all states accept the inevitable disclosure doctrine?
• Does marking documents "confidential" protect them?
• Does the DTSA preempt state trade secret law?
• How can litigation itself destroy a trade secret?
• How do states regulate non-compete agreements?
• How do you value a trade secret for damages purposes?
• How should a company hiring from a competitor protect itself?
• Is a trade secret constitutional property?
• Is reverse engineering a trade secret legal?
• Is secrecy in trade secret law absolute?
• Is someone liable for using a trade secret they received innocently?
• Is the DTSA or the UTSA a better claim to bring?
• Is the DTSA retroactive?
• Is there a federal ban on non-compete agreements?
• Is trade secret theft a federal crime?
• Should a company refer a trade secret theft for criminal prosecution?
• Should a secrecy strategy rely on non-compete agreements?
• Should a trade secret plaintiff sue the new employer as well as the employee?
• What are the most famous examples of trade secrets?
• What are the Restatement's six factors for identifying a trade secret?
• What are the risks of sending a trade secret cease-and-desist letter?
• What are the three elements of a trade secret?
• What are the three layers of a trade secret protection program?
• What are the three types of restrictive covenant used to protect trade secrets?
• What cases show that lax handling defeats a trade secret claim?
• What counts as "improper means" of acquiring a trade secret?
• What counts as "use" of a trade secret?
• What damages are available for trade secret misappropriation?
• What does "reasonable measures" require to protect a trade secret?
• What does "secret" mean in trade secret law?
• What does the value element of a trade secret require?
• What does Waymo v. Uber teach about trade secret litigation?
• What happened to the FTC's non-compete rule?
• What injunctive relief is available in a trade secret case?
• What is a trade secret?
• What is negative know-how and why is it protectable?
• What is the Achilles' heel of the trade secret path?
• What is the Defend Trade Secrets Act?
• What is the difference between general knowledge and an employer's trade secrets?
• What is the DTSA's civil seizure remedy?
• What is the DTSA whistleblower immunity notice requirement?
• What is the inevitable disclosure doctrine?
• What is the limitations period for a trade secret claim?
• What is the Uniform Trade Secrets Act?
• What is trade secret misappropriation?
• What is UTSA displacement and why does it matter?
• What kinds of information have courts recognized as trade secrets?
• What must an applicant prove to obtain a DTSA civil seizure order?
• What questions will a court ask about your secrecy measures?
• What should a company do first when it suspects a trade secret has been taken?
• What should a company do when an employee leaves?
• What should a non-disclosure agreement contain to protect trade secrets?
• When have courts actually granted DTSA civil seizure?
• When should an innovator choose a patent over a trade secret?
• When should an innovator choose a trade secret over a patent?
• Why are access logs the most important technical measure?
• Why can a trade secret last forever when patents and copyrights expire?
• Why do most trade secret disputes involve employees rather than spies?
• Why do trade secret complaints often include claims beyond misappropriation?
• Why is need-to-know access control so important?
• Why is trade secret protection described as brittle?
• Why must a plaintiff identify its trade secrets with particularity?
• Why should a company maintain a trade secret inventory?