–cp
PHOENIX — Companies that want to sue former workers who have stolen what they say are trade secrets need to prove that what was taken is truly a secret, the Arizona Court of Appeals has ruled.
And they have to prove they made a real effort to keep the information secret.
Judge Patricia Norris, writing for the court, said customer lists can be considered trade secrets. But the judge said that, by itself, is not enough. …
Norris said the case turns on common law principles of what is a “trade secret.” That, she said, requires two things.
First, it has to have independent economic value by virtue of not being generally know and not being “readily ascertainable by proper means” by others. Second, it must be “the subject of efforts … to maintain its secrecy.”
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