In Colorado, employers often claim that noncompetes signed by salemen are enforceable because the company has customer lists and other proprietary information which are trade secrets. Employers resort to the “trade secret” exception in Colorado’s noncompete statute, because many salesman don’t have management responsibilities and the statutory exception for executive and management personnel can’t be invoked.… Continue Reading
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First things first; the need to identify the trade secret
Posted in Trade SecretsReady, fire, aim. That’s how one commentator describes the mistake often made by many companies when they commence a trade secret lawsuit. What he means is that companies rush to file a lawsuit for trade secret misappropriation when an employee quits and takes a prominent position with a competitor. Immediate action seems necessary to protect the… Continue Reading
A “Referral Source List” as Trade Secret
Posted in Trade SecretsIn a noteworthy, but dated, decision from July 2013, Judge Daniel on the federal district court bench ruled that an employer had failed to prove that a "referral source list" was a trade secret. Accordingly, in Continental Credit Corp v. Dragovich, Judge Daniel held that the employee’s noncompete was not enforceable and denied employer’s motion… Continue Reading
Tenth Circuit rules that price quote not a trade secret
Posted in Trade SecretsWe recently wrote about the Tenth Circuit’s September, 2009 decision in Southwest Stainless v. Sappington, but the decision is worth another look. An issue presented by Southwest Stainless was whether a price quote was a a trade secret. Southwest claimed that a price quote was and asserted a claim for misappropriation of trade secret. The defendant, a… Continue Reading