Also known as: trade secrets · trade-secret · trade-secrets
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A formula, process, device, or other business information that derives independent economic value from not being generally known or readily ascertainable by others who can obtain economic value from its disclosure or use. The information must be the subject of reasonable efforts under the circumstances to maintain its secrecy.
Triumph Manufacturing sued a competitor for misappropriation and faced a request for production of its proprietary manufacturing process. The court granted a protective order under Rule 26(c)(1)(G) that allowed only outside counsel and one designated expert to review the documents. The order prevented public revelation while still permitting the litigation to proceed.
Twin Rivers Bank received a third-party subpoena seeking its internal customer-valuation algorithms in unrelated litigation. The bank moved to quash under Rule 45(d)(3)(B)(i), showing that the algorithms constituted trade secrets whose disclosure would cause competitive harm. The court modified the subpoena to require production only under a strict confidentiality agreement.
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Topaz Mining gathered and sold daily mineral-price reports compiled through costly field investigations. A rival copied the reports and resold them without permission. The court treated the reports as trade secrets and enjoined the rival from using the information obtained through breach of the original confidentiality arrangements.
Tanya Tang, a radio host, received and aired a recording of a corporate executive discussing a secret product formula. The company sued the broadcaster for disclosing the trade secret. The court held that the First Amendment protected the broadcast because the information had already been obtained by a third party who violated no duty to the company.
Titan Industries shareholders sued the board and sought production of internal legal memos discussing a confidential manufacturing process. The court balanced the privilege claim against the risk of revealing trade secrets and ordered in-camera review with a protective order limiting access to counsel only.
Thomas Thompson signed a consumer contract with Triumph Manufacturing containing an arbitration clause that required confidential proceedings. When Thompson later sued in court, the company moved to compel arbitration, arguing that public litigation would expose its proprietary design specifications. The Supreme Court upheld the clause, noting that arbitration can be structured to protect trade secrets.
The information must derive independent economic value from not being generally known or readily ascertainable and must be subject to reasonable efforts to maintain its secrecy. Courts apply this standard uniformly across civil and criminal contexts.
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Rule 26(c)(1)(G) authorizes courts to require that trade secrets not be revealed or be revealed only in a specified manner. Parties may also request limits on who may attend depositions or that documents be filed under seal.
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Rule 45(d)(3)(B)(i) permits a court to quash or modify a subpoena that would require disclosure of a trade secret or other confidential commercial information. The court may instead order production under specified protective conditions.
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Publication of lawfully obtained information is generally protected even if the source obtained it unlawfully, provided the publisher did not participate in the illegality. The analysis turns on whether the publisher had a duty of confidentiality.
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…for example, that the decisionmaker be a specialist in the relevant field, or that proceedings be kept confidential to protect trade secrets. And the informality of arbitral proceedings is itself desirable, reducing the cost and increasing the speed of dispute resolution. 14 Penn Plaza LLC v. Pyett , 556 U. S. , (2009)…