Trade Secrets and Former Employees—The Effect of No Written Agreement

This 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.