What types of information qualify as trade secrets?

In Texas, trade secret law is designed to protect confidential business information from being unlawfully disclosed or acquired. Generally, trade secrets are information or knowledge that have actual or potential economic value and are not generally available to the public. Examples of trade secrets under Texas law include customer lists, designs, manufacturing processes, recipes, formulas, and other technical information that is kept confidential. Trade secrets also include marketing plans, formulas and techniques used in development and research activities, pricing strategies, and personnel records. In Texas, trade secrets must be used in a manner that preserves their secrecy in order for them to be protected. This includes using physical security measures, such as restricting access to documents and databases containing the trade secret information, and maintaining confidentiality agreements with employees and other persons who may have access to the trade secret information. Beyond information, trade secrets can also include the characteristics, designs, and methods of manufacturing products and the techniques used in the sale of products. Trade secret law also allows for trade secrets to include any information regarding a business’s competitive advantages that provides the business an advantage over its competitors. Under Texas law, trade secrets must have been subject to reasonable efforts to maintain secrecy in order for them to be considered trade secrets. This means that the owner of the trade secret must have taken measures to ensure that the information remains a secret, such as using passwords or encryption, requiring employees to sign confidentiality agreements, or other methods. The owner must also be able to demonstrate that the information is valuable to the business and to provide evidence that the steps taken to protect the information were reasonable.

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What types of information qualify as trade secrets?

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