Warning

Info

Warning

Info

Warning

Info

LSDefine

Simple English definitions for legal terms

inevitable-disclosure doctrine

Read a random definition: business record exception

A quick definition of inevitable-disclosure doctrine:

The inevitable-disclosure doctrine is a legal theory that says if an employee who knows a company's trade secrets goes to work for a competitor, they will inevitably use that knowledge to compete unfairly. To stop this from happening, the former employer can ask for an injunction to prevent the employee from working for the competitor. However, many courts have rejected this doctrine because it turns a nondisclosure agreement into a noncompetition agreement. The leading case that supports this doctrine is PepsiCo, Inc. v. Redmond, where the court compared the situation to a coach whose player left with the playbook to join the opposing team before a big game.

A more thorough explanation:

The inevitable-disclosure doctrine is a legal theory that applies to trade secrets. It states that if a key employee leaves a company and joins a competitor, they cannot avoid using the former employer's trade secrets. This is because the employee has confidential information that they will inevitably use to unfairly compete against their former employer.

To obtain an injunction, the plaintiff must prove that the former employee has confidential information and will not be able to avoid using that knowledge to unfairly compete against the plaintiff. However, most courts have rejected this doctrine because it effectively turns a nondisclosure agreement into a disfavored noncompetition agreement.

For example, in the case of PepsiCo, Inc. v. Redmond, the court upheld the inevitable-disclosure doctrine. PepsiCo found itself in the position of a coach, one of whose players has left, playbook in hand, to join the opposing team before the big game. The court ruled that Redmond, the former employee, had access to confidential information that he would inevitably use to compete against PepsiCo.

Another example is a software engineer who leaves a tech company and joins a competitor. If the engineer has access to the former employer's trade secrets, they may inevitably use that knowledge to develop similar products for the competitor, which would be unfair competition.

inevitable-accident doctrine | inevitable-misappropriation doctrine

Warning

Info

General

General chat about the legal profession.
main_chatroom
👍 Chat vibe: 0 👎
Help us make LSD better!
Tell us what's important to you
MIAMI A
[] AromaticTroubledDormouse
20:55
How does one know if they are UR1 or UR2?
[] AromaticTroubledDormouse
20:56
CONGRATS MACAQUE!
TY
got a random stanford email and almost had a heart attack
ALSO CONGRATS!
Congrats1!
21:15
Miami A, yall I'm so excited I could cry.
21:15
Feel like I can finally stop holding my breath!! Whew!!!
[] baddestbunny
22:16
every time I get accosted by a strange man who follows me around because my male coworkers were too busy talking to walk me back to my car I get closer to saying we need to bring back traditional gender roles
Dkk
22:32
Nice! @Macaque
Dkk
22:32
@Aromatic, Have to guess.
Dkk
22:33
That sucks @Bunny do you have to go to the hospital?
[] baddestbunny
22:40
I said accosted not assaulted
23:35
guys. my notre dame address just went long is this good or bad
1a2b3c4d26z
23:37
Oooooo me too
23:37
omg is this good or bad
Dkk
23:47
Idk if gender roles are gunna fix that then.
23:49
it looks like most people who applied in october last cycle didn't get a decision until january... does it even mean anything that our addresses went long??
hows ED 2 compared to ED 1?
Dkk
0:10
No idea
windyMagician
0:34
reporting live to say my ndls address also went long
does it mean anything ^
Dkk
2:21
NDLS and Fordham took a very long time last year. It's good info for people to know.
[] baddestbunny
4:29
let’s get after it boys and girls
Dkk
5:21
I gtg to bed soon.
Dkk
5:22
Big day today. Gunna be a crazy one. I will sleep through the first half.
good morning lsd it is 5 am EST
also jazzy my ndls address went long ages ago i sadly do not think it means anything
my stanford address also went long LOL i think at most it's an indicator it's under review
LSD+ is ad-free, with DMs, discounts, case briefs & more.