Guide to Protecting and Litigating Trade Secrets

Legal experts agree that trade secrets are extremely important to the U.S. economy. The estimated value of trade secrets in the United States is a staggering $5 trillion, and corporations spend billions of dollars to protect their trade secrets. Research shows that billions of dollars are lost each year as a result of trade secret theft. In 2002, the Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive reported $300 billion in losses as the result of industrial espionage.

Guide to Protecting and Litigating Trade Secrets focuses on several large jurisdictions in which trade secret cases are heavily litigated to illustrate the concepts, but the analysis also includes other jurisdictions to demonstrate the differing approaches to the treatment of trade secrets. In addition to a broader, more academic look at trade secret law, the book also draws on current, real-life examples of trade secret nightmares and the litigation experience of its primary authors to provide practical advice to the business owner, small legal department or firm, and solo practitioner.

Contents

• Introduction: Why Protect A Trade Secret?
• Chapter 1: What Is a Trade Secret?
• Chapter 2: What Is "Misappropriation" Of a Trade Secret?
• Chapter 3: Protecting Trade Secrets
• Chapter 4: Restrictive Covenants as a Device to Protect Trade Secrets
• Chapter 5: A Civil Action for Trade Secret Misappropriation
• Chapter 6: Remedies for Trade Secret Misappropriation