What is trade secret law?

Trade secret law is the body of law that protects businesses from the misappropriation of information that is not generally known to the public and has commercial value. In Washington, this law is referred to as the Uniform Trade Secrets Act, established in 1993. Trade secret law prevents businesses from having their valuable information stolen or disseminated without their permission. Trade secrets can come in a variety of forms including formulae, processes, methods, techniques, programs, drawings, databases, techniques, practices, and more. They must meet two criteria to be considered a trade secret under the Uniform Trade Secrets Act: they must be not generally known by the public and they must be of value to the business. In order to protect a trade secret under the Act, the owner of the secret must take reasonable steps to keep it a secret such as restricting access to the information to only those who need to know and using passwords or encryption to protect the information. The Uniform Trade Secrets Act also sets out the conditions under which an alleged misappropriation of trade secrets may lead to legal action. For example, one such condition is when the parties have agreed to maintain the confidentiality of the information. In such a case, the Uniform Trade Secrets Act prohibits a person from using or disclosing the confidential information without permission. Overall, trade secret law helps to protect businesses from the theft or misuse of their valuable information, ensuring that their competitive edge is maintained and that their innovative ideas are not taken away from them.

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What is trade secret law?

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