How long does a trade secret need to exist in order to be protected?

Typically, a trade secret needs to exist for a reasonable length of time before protection is available. In Massachusetts, the length of time may vary depending on the type of information at stake. Generally, trade secrets must be “seasonably developed,” meaning that the information must have been kept confidential for a period of time, and reasonable steps must have been taken to safeguard the secret information. Also, the information must derive economic value from not being known to the public, and must be the subject of reasonable efforts to maintain secrecy. The trade secret must also not be readily ascertainable or derived from publicly available information. Thus, to protect a trade secret under Massachusetts law, the trade secret must have a history of being confidential, and the trade secret owner must be using efforts to keep it confidential. In Massachusetts, the statute of limitations for trade secret misappropriation is three years from the time the owner knew or should have known that the misappropriation occurred. This means that if a trade secret has been kept confidential and reasonably guarded for at least three years, it would generally be considered to be eligible for protection. In short, the length of a trade secret’s existence necessary for protection in Massachusetts depends on the particular circumstances, but the trade secret should have been kept secret and the trade secret owner should have taken reasonable efforts to protect the secret for a minimum of three years.

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How long does a trade secret need to exist in order to be protected?

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