Trade Secrets and Former Employees—The Effect of No Written Agreement
20m | Jul 30, 2021This episode is aimed at answering the question of how protected a company’s trade secrets are in the absence of a confidentiality agreement, if at all.
GENERAL LINKS:
- Calendly page to schedule a call: https://calendly.com/keithlawpllc/20minute
- Podcast Website: https://www.keith.law/category/podcast/
- Firm Website: https://www.keith.law/
- LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-keith-0736a931/
EPISODE-SPECIFIC LINKS:
- Episode's blog post: https://www.keith.law/trade-secret/trade-secrets-and-former-employeeseffect-of-no-written-agreement/
- Texas Uniform Trade Secret Act: https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/CP/htm/CP.134A.htm
- Information about the Defend Trade Secrets Act: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defend_Trade_Secrets_Act
- Information on what a "cause of action" is: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cause_of_action
TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 — What if your worker leaves with your trade secrets and you don't have a confidentiality agreement in place?
00:06 — Intro
00:30 — There is trade secret protection under TUTSA and the DTSA when the statutory requirements are satisfied.
01:01 — Both statutes require taking "reasonable measures" to keep the information a secret. A signed confidentiality agreement can be an example of a reasonable measure to keep the information a secret. But, a signed agreement is not absolutely necessary.
01:40 — The longer answer to the question.
01:43 — The essential elements of a trade secret misappropriation cause of action.
03:50 — What about misappropriation in the absence of a signed agreement? This is a question about element two of the cause of action.
04:26 — A discussion of the public policy balancing act to help understand why things are the way they are.
06:11 — Use of information acquired during employment.
07:40 — Important reasons to have confidentiality agreements with your employees.
09:45 — How a signed confidentiality agreement might stop a problem before a lawsuit becomes necessary.
11:38 — Why, as a practical matter, it's important to be able to attach liability to the new employer, if possible.
12:05 — Recovering attorney's fees in the context of a trade secrets misappropriation lawsuit under TUTSA and DTSA.
16:00 — Recovering attorney's fees in the context of a breached contract—including a breached confidentiality agreement.
16:57 — Other potentially available causes of action in a trade secrets misappropriation context.
19:07 — The takeaways from this episode.
20:03 — Outro
Disclaimer: This audio and blog post are for informational purposes only and should not be misinterpreted as legal or other professional advice. If you have a legal question, you should consult with an attorney in your jurisdiction. Thank you for tuning in to Keith Law, PLLC.
