Unwritten Secrets Are Protectable Under The Uniform Trade Secret Act

Addressing the issue of trade secret infringement, the Supreme Court of Ohio affirmed the appellate court's decision holding that memorization and use of trade secret information belonging to a former employer constitutes trade secret infringement in accordance with the Uniform Trade Secrets Act ("UTSA"). Al Minor & Assoc. v. Martin, 2008 Ohio LEXIS 240 (O'Donnell, J.).

Al Minor & Associates (AMA) is an actuarial firm that designs and administers retirement plans. AMA's clientele had been developed by its founder Al Minor since 1983. The plaintiff, Robert E. Martin was hired by AMA in 1998 as a pension analyst. Martin was not required to sign an employment contract. Martin later organized his own company, which provided the same type of services as AMA. Upon learning of Martin's company, AMA filed the present trade secret suit against Martin. During his tenure at AMA, Martin memorized the customer