What is the scope of trade secret protection in the United States?

In the United States, trade secret protection is intended to protect a business’s confidential information, which could include things like customer lists, formulas, strategies, or sales methods. In the state of Virginia, trade secret law can be found in the Virginia Uniform Trade Secrets Act (VUTSA). The VUTSA declares that a trade secret is information that: (1) has independent economic value from not being generally known to, and not being readily ascertainable by proper means by, other persons who can obtain economic value from its disclosure, (2) is the subject of efforts that are reasonable under the circumstances to maintain its secrecy, and (3) is some type of intangible asset such as a formula, pattern, compilation, program, device, method, technique, process, financial data, or list of actual or potential customers. Generally, trade secret protection in the United States covers actions taken to protect against the disclosure of confidential information, including measures to ensure that the information is kept secure, as well as actions taken to prevent or otherwise limit the public’s access to the information. Furthermore, legal penalties for the disclosure of trade secrets, such as civil or criminal penalties, can be imposed in order to protect the confidential information of a business. When considering trade secret protection in the United States, it is important to consider both the federal laws and the laws of the particular state as well. Virginia’s VUTSA, for example, provides businesses with a more comprehensive set of trade secret laws than those imposed on a federal level.

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