On July 5, 2016, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals clarified that publicly available information can still qualify as a trade secret. In United States v. Nosal, the court found that a collection of data, compiled from public sources, fit the definition of a trade secret due to the proprietary process that was utilized to search the information. The Ninth Circuit stated, “[i]t is well recognized that it is a secrecy of the claimed trade secret as a whole that is determinative.” The court’s guidance now clarifies what categories of information fall into the definition of “trade secret” for attorneys who are considering filing suit under the Defend Trade Secrets Act.
If you have any questions about your obligations as an employer, please contact us at info@mitzelgroup.com or reach out to your Mitzel Group, LLP attorney directly.
