The "Inevitable Disclosure" Doctrine And The DTSA

The "inevitable disclosure" doctrine permits the plaintiff in a trade secrets case to establish threatened misappropriation by showing that the defendant's new employment will inevitably lead the defendant to rely on the plaintiff's trade secrets. In the seminal case that articulated this doctrine, the court enjoined the defendant from working for the competitor because "there is a high degree of probability of inevitable and immediate . use of . trade secrets."¹

The doctrine is controversial because it potentially "requires a court to recognize and enforce a de facto noncompetition agreement to which the former employee is bound, even where no express agreement exists."³ Accordingly, "the inevitable disclosure doctrine treads an exceedingly narrow path through judicially disfavored territory."³