A Tale Of Two Secrets

Many departing employees take company materials with them, such as business information, technical documents, experimental protocols or computer code. They may be unaware of the consequences to themselves and their new employers if these materials are proprietary trade secrets. A departing employee could be liable for a breach of their employment contract. The employee and new company may also be liable under common law for misappropriation of the trade secrets. There could also be criminal consequences under federal or state laws. Two recent U.S. cases demonstrate the wide assortment of potential liability for taking trade secrets. Both cases involve an ex-employee accused of taking computer code from their prior employer to their new job. However, the legal consequences for these defendants could not be more different.