Key Takeaways From 2023 Trade Secret Developments

Business litigation partner Randy Kahnke and associatesAnna Sallstrom and Bryan Washburn coauthored an article for Law360 on significant developments in trade secret law in 2023, including a summary of key issues and practical guidance.

The authors addressed the following topics:

1. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit held that a compilation including public record data was a protectable trade secret, in part due to the difficulty of compiling it.
2. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit provided guidance on the extraterritorial reach of the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act.
3. The Fourth Circuit reminded trade secret plaintiffs that the value of a trade secret must be derived from the information’s secrecy.
4. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit provided guidance on the importance of establishing a confidential relationship when sharing trade secret information.
5. The U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts allowed investors’ securities fraud claims to proceed based on a defendant’s statement that a trade secret claim against it was “without merit.”

The full article is available for Law360 subscribers.