Trade Secrets

Trade Secrets

Trade Secrets: Important Quasi-Property Rights
      Ramon A. Klitzke, 41(2): 555–70 (Feb. 1986)
Trade secrets increase in importance as a business gains experience in a particular area. This Article is designed to alert the business lawyer to the broad legal protection available to owners of trade secrets. The description of a trade secret is tied to the kind of conduct that will precipitate a cause of action.

Eroding Protection of Customer Lists and Customer Information Under the Uniform Trade Secrets Act
      Henry J. Silberberg and Eric G. Lardiere, 42(2): 487–505 (Feb. 1987)
Recent decisions under the Uniform Trade Secrets Act show that courts are growing reluctant to grant trade secret protection to customer lists and customer information. This Article surveys these recent decisions and recommends some practical measures business managers may take either to prevent disclosure of confidential customer information or to protect themselves against liability if they are sued for misappropriation of such information.

The Concept of Reasonableness in the Protection of Trade Secrets
      Patrick P. Phillips, 42(4): 1045–51 (Aug. 1987)
The time for a company to take steps to protect its trade secrets is not when an alleged act of misappropriation comes to light. Claiming to have a trade secret absent adequate protection can often result in the loss of the "trade secret." Although this Article provides a minimal amount of theory, its primary purpose is to provide a nuts-and-bolts discussion of how to protect trade secrets.

Protecting Trade Secret Information: A Plan for Proactive Strategy
      Michael A. Epstein and Stuart D. Levi, 43(3): 887–914 (May 1988)
This Article reviews strategies that companies can use to protect important and competitively sensitive information under trade secret law. It provides a methodology for establishing or evaluating an information protection plan and details specific actions that companies should take to maintain the confidentiality of important information.

The Revictimization of Companies by the Stock Market Who Report Trade Secret Theft Under the Economic Espionage Act
      Chris Carr and Larry Gorman, 57(1): 25 (Nov. 2001)
In 1996 Congress passed the Economic Espionage Act (EEA). One of the concerns surrounding the passage of the EEA was that publicly traded companies would be hesitant to report trade secret theft to the government for fear that doing so would adversely impact their stock prices. This article investigates whether that concern has merit. Using event study methodology, the authors found that the stock market does, in fact, negatively react to the reporting of trade secret theft under the EEA. Stated differently, these companies are "revictimized" by going public with their loss. Further, the authors found a strong statistical link between the value of the trade secret and subsequent decreases in stock value (i.e., the higher the value of the trade secret the greater the decrease in stock price). These findings have important implications regarding the efficacy of the EEA and future amendments. They also have important implications for corporate legal counsel, CEOs, managers, and shareholders.

Task Force Introductory Report and Background Considerations Model Intellectual Property Security Agreement
     Model Intellectual Property Security Agreement Task Force, Commercial Finance committee and Uniform Commercial Code committee, ABA Business Law Section, 771(3): 849-932 (Summer 2016)