Articles Posted in Trade Secrets

The Defend Trade Secrets Act and similar state statutes create a civil cause of action for misappropriating another’s trade secrets. 18 USC § 1836 (“An owner of a trade secret that is misappropriated may bring a civil action under this subsection if the trade secret is related to a product or service used in, or…

It is of great importance that businesses protect their trade secrets because disclosure to competitors can have significant negative impact. Disclosure many even be ruinous. The Miami business litigation attorneys of the Mavrick Law Firm represent businesses and their owners in breach of contract litigation and related claims of fraud, non-compete agreement litigation, trade secret…

According to the Florida Uniform Trade Secrets Act (FUTSA), business information must be secret to qualify as a trade secret. FUTSA defines trade secrets as “information . . . that [d]erives independent economic value from not being generally known to, and not being readily ascertainable by proper means by, other persons who can obtain economic…

A trade secret could be the lifeblood of a business, and it is critical for businesses to protect their trade secrets. If a business’ trade secret is misappropriated, the business likely will want to commence litigation. What remedies can the business obtain for the trade secret misappropriation? Determining the remedies for trade secret misappropriation is…

It is important for businesses to protect their trade secrets to prevent their misappropriation. But sometimes, a business’s trade secrets are stolen despite the business’s best efforts to protect them. For example, an employee may steal his employer’s trade secrets and start a competing business or provide the secret to an already established competing business.…

It is important for every business to take extensive efforts to protect their trade secrets and limit their disclosure to persons with subject to comprehensive confidentiality agreements. Often, trade secret misappropriation occurs when a business shares its trade secrets with an outside vendor. This is exactly what a plaintiff claims to have happened in Ecolab,…

The Court of Appeals of Virginia recently reversed a massive verdict in a trade secret misappropriation case involving two business competitors. In Pegasystems, Inc. v. Appian Corporation, ___ S.E.2d. ____, 2024 WL 3571808 (Va. 2024), the jury returned a verdict of more than $2 billion, the largest trade secret verdict in Virginia history. However, the…

You should protect your trade secrets at all lawful costs. But sometimes, trade secrets are stolen and misappropriated despite your best efforts to protect them. This article discusses some of the remedies available when trade secrets are stolen and the duration you can obtain those remedies in the future. Peter Mavrick is a Fort Lauderdale…

We previously written about the importance of trade secret “compilations” because a trade secret owner can claim certain information is trade secret even when the information is public. Secrecy is the bedrock to possessing trade secrets because they are defined as information “deriv[ing]] independent economic value… from not being generally known to, and not being…

Under Florida law, enforcement of a non-compete agreement requires requires proof of at least one “legitimate business interest.” Fla. Stat. § 542.335 (“The person seeking enforcement of a restrictive covenant shall plead and prove the existence of one or more legitimate business interests justifying the restrictive covenant.”). A failure to plead or prove the existence…