Trade secrets may include various private details about business operations. Recipes and formulas can be trade secrets. Even lists of vendors and clients can constitute trade secrets if the information isn’t readily available to the public and it provides a competitive advantage.
Businesses generally make every reasonable effort to protect their trade secrets. Despite those efforts, outside parties might steal or otherwise gain access to trade secrets. What forms of professional misconduct might constitute the theft of trade secrets?
1. Confidentiality agreement violations
Third parties, including vendors and service providers, often have access to private information about company operations. The contracts in place governing working relationships may include non-disclosure or confidentiality agreements to prevent the release of trade secrets. If third parties violate nondisclosure agreements, companies may be able to take legal action.
2. Hacking and corporate espionage
Some organizations may engage in illegal conduct to steal trade secrets. They may try to get through a company’s firewall and access private information. In some cases, they may even unlawfully access physical premises to acquire trade secrets. Such misconduct can also provide the basis for litigation.
3. Employee misconduct.
Workers are frequently subject to nondisclosure agreements prohibiting the disclosure of non-public information about the company. Despite employer rules, some workers may intentionally access and retain trade secrets for their own use or for sale to competitors. If workers access and misappropriate trade secrets, both the employee involved and the company that receives the trade secrets could be responsible for the harm caused.
Businesses negatively impacted by the theft of trade secrets may need to pursue business litigation. Filing a lawsuit can hold outside companies and current or former employees responsible for the theft of trade secrets and the impact that theft has on an organization.
