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Simple English definitions for legal terms
Uniform Trade Secrets Act
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A quick definition of Uniform Trade Secrets Act:
The Uniform Trade Secrets Act is a law that most states have adopted. It defines trade secrets as information that is valuable and secret, and that the owner has taken reasonable steps to keep secret. If someone wrongfully takes or uses this information, they have committed misappropriation. The law helps protect businesses from having their valuable information stolen or used without permission.
A more thorough explanation:
The Uniform Trade Secrets Act is a model statute created in 1979 that has been adopted by most states in the United States. It defines trade secrets differently from common law by being broader and narrower at the same time. It is broader because there is no continuous-use requirement, and it is narrower because information that can be easily obtained through proper means cannot qualify as a trade secret.
The Act has three elements:
- The information must qualify as a trade secret.
- It must be misappropriated, either through wrongful means or by breaching a duty of confidentiality.
- The owner must have taken reasonable precautions to keep the information secret.
For example, a company's secret recipe for a popular soft drink can be considered a trade secret under the Uniform Trade Secrets Act. If a former employee of the company shares the recipe with a competitor, it would be considered misappropriation and a violation of the Act.
Another example could be a software company's proprietary code that is kept secret from competitors. If a former employee of the company takes the code and uses it to create a competing product, it would be considered misappropriation and a violation of the Act.