If you are accused of misappropriating trade secrets, your best defense in many states is actual independent development. Independently developing information from one's own pool of knowledge or the public domain is a complete defense to a company's claim of trade secret misappropriation.
The typical remedy for trade secret misappropriation is an injunction. The court will order the wrongdoer to cease use, disclosure, or publication of the secret information.
Courts, cognizant of the difficulties inherent in measuring the value of trade secrets, typically permit plaintiffs to claim damages for their misappropriation in a variety of forms. Most commonly, a plaintiff will seek damages in the form of either its lost profits or the defendant's unjust enrichment.
Trade secret misappropriation occurs when a trade secret has been wrongfully taken or disclosed without consent. A trade secret is defined as information (1) that derives independent economic value from not being generally known, and (2) which has been the subject of reasonable efforts to be kept a secret.
Liability can arise when one party unlawfully acquires, uses, or discloses another party's trade secrets, resulting in harm or damages. There are no express criminal remedies available for misappropriation of a trade secret.
Courts, cognizant of the difficulties inherent in measuring the value of trade secrets, typically permit plaintiffs to claim damages for their misappropriation in a variety of forms. Most commonly, a plaintiff will seek damages in the form of either its lost profits or the defendant's unjust enrichment.
If you are accused of misappropriating trade secrets, your best defense in many states is actual independent development. Independently developing information from one's own pool of knowledge or the public domain is a complete defense to a company's claim of trade secret misappropriation.
A court may grant an injunction to prevent any actual or threatened misappropriation, provided that the injunction does not “prevent a person from entering into an employment relationship,” and that any conditions placed on employment are based on “evidence of threatened misappropriation and not merely on the ...
This doctrine holds that a third party is liable when the third party acquires a trade secret from another and then discloses or uses the secret under circumstances where he knows or should have known that the trade secret was wrongfully acquired.