4 ms·

Do these laws have any tests for determining if the owner of a "trade secret" is protecting the secret appropriately? I'm not looking for a defense of the clea

Do these laws have any tests for determining if the owner of a "trade secret" is protecting the secret appropriately? I'm not looking for a defense of the clearly unethical and illegal behavior of Chen, Hogan, etc. I do worry that a person in a bar I'm drinking at may accidentally leave a trade secret lying around. I can't imagine Coke allowing an employee to take home the secret formula. Thanks for your analysis of the pertinent points of this case. Just one more thing I have to keep on my mental list of "things that can get you 5 to 10 in the 'Land of the Free'".

grellas 16y ago
It is usually pretty easy for a trade secret owner to show that it is protecting its property by taking reasonable and prudent steps to assure that the information is kept confidential (e.g., by making everybody who deals with it sign NDAs, etc.). Accordingly, most proprietary developments of tech companies do fall within the protectable trade secret category unless the company explicitly makes the information public (e.g., by open sourcing it). I don't think there is any particular need to worry about stumbling upon trade secret information and incurring the risk of criminal prosecution. Anyone in such a position who has honest intentions can have a pretty good sense of what to do (report it, turn it in, etc.) and, if unsure, at least of what not to do (sell it for $$$, rip off serial numbers, photograph details and publish them on the web). Remember, each of the criminal statutes requires that someone act in relation to trade secrets "with intent to" do something wrong (convert them to his own use, harm the owner, etc.), and prosecutors must prove this "intent" element (what the lawyers call mens rea or "evil intent") beyond a reasonable doubt. Most of us will be quite safe, then, even if we do happen to stumble upon lost property at a bar.

grellas 16y ago

It is usually pretty easy for a trade secret owner to show that it is protecting its property by taking reasonable and prudent steps to assure that the information is kept confidential (e.g., by making everybody who deals with it sign NDAs, etc.). Accordingly, most proprietary developments of tech companies do fall within the protectable trade secret category unless the company explicitly makes the information public (e.g., by open sourcing it). I don't think there is any particular need to worry about stumbling upon trade secret information and incurring the risk of criminal prosecution. Anyone in such a position who has honest intentions can have a pretty good sense of what to do (report it, turn it in, etc.) and, if unsure, at least of what not to do (sell it for $$$, rip off serial numbers, photograph details and publish them on the web). Remember, each of the criminal statutes requires that someone act in relation to trade secrets "with intent to" do something wrong (convert them to his own use, harm the owner, etc.), and prosecutors must prove this "intent" element (what the lawyers call mens rea or "evil intent") beyond a reasonable doubt. Most of us will be quite safe, then, even if we do happen to stumble upon lost property at a bar.