This month, Plano trade secrets lawyers at Armstrong the Law Firm focus on the unique characteristics of trade secret litigation in Texas.

Businesses invest much sweat equity and capital developing confidential information which could, if it fell into the hands of a competitor, inflict substantial damage on them. Therefore, they must develop and implement safeguards which will protect against such a circumstance. This type of confidential information is called a “trade secret.”

Protecting an enterprise’s trade secrets can spawn protracted, expensive litigation when parties contend that trade secrets have been misused. In Texas, the formation and misuse of trade secrets is governed by the common law, which is a body of case law developed by the courts. In this respect, Texas differs from the majority of states, which have adopted the Uniform Trade Secrets Act.

Whether a trade secret has been infringed turns on many factors. Among these are: (1) whether there was a valid non-disclosure or noncompetition agreement in place; (2) what actions a party took to protect the information from disclosure; and (3) how much capital the company invested in developing the trade secret. It may also be relevant whether the alleged trade secret was generally available to the public through other means.

Trade secret law suits also present unique challenges for the litigants and for the courts that decide them. If information is truly confidential and proprietary as alleged, and the suit is between industry competitors, information which is usually disclosed in pre-trial “discovery” can be harmful to the disclosing party. Worse still, if the party alleging trade secret status disclosed such information without asserting objections based on confidentiality, it could be viewed as a waiver of the right to object on such grounds. Additionally, in certain cases it constitutes evidence that the disclosed information was not confidential. Therefore, the parties in such cases will frequently enter into an agreed protective order signed by the court, which orders that the information revealed for trial purposes not be disclosed to anyone other than the litigants themselves.

Plano trade secret lawyers at Armstrong the Law Firm have accumulated nearly thirty years of experience in handling trade secret litigation throughout Texas. The firm also handles litigation in the business and commercial arena.