Re:When Your Former Boss Sues You for Starting a Startup
by sandworm101 on Tuesday September 22, 2015 @10:08PM
(#10262971)
I said the document was untrustworthy, not necessarily incorrect. It is too old to be relied upon. It's not a question of whether the material is accurate. Any lawyer advising a client would be negligent if he or she looked to such dated summaries of the law. They aren't worth reading given the many current summaries are available elsewhere. Now if the firm wants to reissue the document, then perhaps.
You're correct that there's more to it than just keeping something secret:
- It has to also be valuable because of the secrecy, so the number I'm thinking in my head doesn't count. But customer lists typically do have value because of secrecy.
- Trade secrecy can be destroyed if the secret gets out.
There's no reason to argue in the abstract. Here's how California law actually defines "trade secret" -- Civil Code 3426.1(d):
(d) “Trade secret” means information, including a formula, pattern, compilation, program, device, method, technique, or process, that:
(1) Derives independent economic value, actual or potential, from not being generally known to the public or to other persons who can obtain economic value from its disclosure or use; and
(2) Is the subject of efforts that are reasonable under the circumstances to maintain its secrecy.
http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displayText.xh...