Simple English definitions for legal terms
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Proper means: A way of finding out trade secrets that is fair and doesn't break any laws or ethical standards. Examples of proper means include coming up with the idea on your own, studying publicly available information, and taking apart a product to figure out how it works. Trade secrets are like private property, but they only stay secret if they are discovered through improper means. This means that if someone finds out a trade secret in a fair way, the owner of the secret can't sue them for using it.
Definition: Proper means refer to any method of discovering trade secrets that does not violate property-protection statutes or standards of commercial ethics. This includes independent invention, reverse engineering, observing the product in public, and studying published literature.
Explanation: Trade secrets are protected in a similar way to private property, but only when they are disclosed or used through improper means. Trade secrets do not have the same absolute monopoly as patented processes, and they will lose their character as private property when the owner divulges them or when they are discovered through proper means. Therefore, it is the use of improper means to produce the trade secret, rather than mere copying or use, which is the basis of liability.
Examples:
These examples illustrate that proper means involve discovering trade secrets without violating any laws or ethical standards. It is important to use proper means to avoid liability for trade secret misappropriation.