Practice area
Trade secret law
Meridian Law's trade secret attorneys help businesses in Nashville and across Tennessee protect confidential information, and bring or defend misappropriation claims in state and federal court. We work from our office in Franklin.
Trade secret law overview
The rise in employees who work from home has led to an increased need to protect trade secrets and data integrity. Ensure you have a solid remote working strategy in place and contact one of our experienced attorneys to help mitigate risk.
What counts as a trade secret in Tennessee?
A trade secret is business information that has value because others do not know it, and that the owner takes reasonable steps to keep secret. Customer lists, pricing, formulas, processes, software and business plans can all qualify. In Tennessee, trade secrets are protected under the Tennessee Uniform Trade Secrets Act and, in many cases, the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act, which allows the owner to sue in federal court.
Information that is publicly available, or that a business has not taken steps to protect, generally does not qualify.
How to protect trade secrets
Protection starts before anything goes missing. Our trade secret advisory services help businesses:
- Identify which information is truly confidential
- Put confidentiality and non-solicitation agreements in place with employees and contractors, alongside any non-compete agreements
- Limit access to sensitive data, including for remote workers
- Plan for departures, from returning devices to exit interviews
Our employment and labor attorneys can build these steps into your hiring and onboarding documents.
When trade secrets are taken
If an employee, former partner or competitor takes confidential information, moving quickly matters. Courts can order a party to stop using or disclosing trade secrets and may award damages, and where misappropriation is willful and malicious, additional damages and attorney's fees may be available. We pursue misappropriation claims and defend those accused of it in state and federal courts, working with our litigation team.
If you, or a new employer, receive a letter alleging misappropriation, respond carefully. An early review of what information is at issue and which agreements apply often determines whether the matter can be resolved without a lawsuit.
These claims sometimes overlap with computer-access laws. We wrote about the U.S. Supreme Court's reading of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.
FAQs
Trade secret law: common questions
What is a trade secret?
A trade secret is information that gives a business an economic advantage because it is not generally known or readily discoverable by others, and that the business makes reasonable efforts to keep confidential. Examples include customer lists, pricing models, recipes and formulas, manufacturing processes and source code.
Unlike a patent, a trade secret is not registered. It is protected because, and only as long as, it stays secret.
How do you protect trade secrets?
Courts look at whether a business took reasonable steps to keep information confidential, so protection is about practice as well as paperwork. Common steps include confidentiality agreements, limiting access to people who need it, marking documents as confidential, securing systems and devices, and reminding departing employees of their obligations.
Having these steps in place also strengthens your position if you ever need to go to court.
How long are trade secrets protected?
A trade secret can be protected indefinitely, for as long as it remains secret and the owner keeps taking reasonable steps to protect it. Once the information becomes public, protection is generally lost.
Misappropriation claims have their own deadline. Under both the Tennessee and federal statutes, a claim generally must be brought within three years after the misappropriation is discovered or reasonably should have been discovered.
Contact Meridian today
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