Non-Disclosure Agreements, Trade Secrets and Lawsuits

Blogging on the Duane Morris Institute site, Jennifer A. Kearns writes about the legal issues involved when employees, most often in the high tech or life sciences fields, leave to work for a competitor and take valuable knowledge with them. A lawsuit against the ex-employee and/or the new employer alleging breach of a non-disclosure agreement is one possibility. Another is a suit for violation of the Uniform Trade Secrets Act. This claim alleges that the plaintiff had “trade secrets,” and the ex-employee wrongfully disclosed them, or wrongfully used them for the benefit of the new employer. The author provides examples of types of information that can reasonably be called trade secrets.