In the highly competative area of software develoment, computer source code holds immense value. It’s the lifeblood of a company’s innovation and the fruit of years of labor and toil. Selecting the right form of protection depends on several factors, like the originality, confidentiality, and functionality of your code. Consulting with an experienced IP attorney ensures you leverage the most effective form of IP protection for your specific situation.
The Eighth Circuit’s decision in Ahern Rentals, Inc. v. EquipmentShare.com has set an important precedent in trade secret misappropriation cases, reaffirming the legitimacy of allegations in the pleading based on information and belief. This ruling is likely to have a lasting impact on how trade secret cases are litigated and underscores the significance of ensuring experienced legal representation to safeguard a businesses valuable intellectual property assets.
Business, innovation and proprietary information are often the cornerstones of a companies’ success. Companies invest significant time, resources, and expertise to develop and maintain their unique processes, formulas, and strategies that provide an edge over their competitors. However, just because the information is a valuable business assets does not automatically make it a trade secret and provide the foundation for a lawsuit over its unauthorized use. In the world of trade secret protection, information is either a “trade secret” (and protectable) or it is not a trade secret (and not protectable).
Despite attempts over the years to conflate the issue, there is no middle gound. Protecting Confidential Information does not make it a trade secret. To be protected as a trade secret companies must protect their valuable information as a secret.
History of Trade Secrets For many businesses, protecting trade secrets is important. Trade secret laws protect secret business information against unauthorized use or disclosure by one who obtains it through improper means. The protection of confidential business information has historically been protected. Protecting trade secret information dates as far back as Roman times, when Roman Read more about Protecting Trade Secrets is Good Business[…]
The Economic Espionage Act of 1996 (EEA) provided a broader definition of what constitutes a “trade secret” and what constitutes trade secret theft, effectively replacing the 1948 Trade Secrets Act, which was limited to prosecution of federal employees. The EEA also was passed so as to serve as a universal trade secret theft act, overriding Read more about Protecting Trade Secrets[…]