Professor Camilla Hrdy presented new research on trade secret law at the annual trade secret law conference, which was hosted this year by Professor Elizabeth Rowe at the University of Virginia School of Law. The event featured a small group of established trade secret law scholars from institutions across the country, pictured below.
Professor Sharon Sandeen received an award for her contributions to the field of trade secret law. Professor Sandeen is shown below with Professor Rowe. Professors Sandeen and Rowe are co-authors of the leading casebook on trade secret law.
Professor Hrdy presented her new paper, Workplace “Acquisition” of Trade Secrets, co-authored with Tait Graves, a Partner at Wilson Sonsini and adjuct at UCSF School of Law, who was also in attendance. The paper can be downloaded on ssrn. The paper documents increasing use of the “acquisition” theory of trade secret liability– which was designed for outsiders who unlawfully gain access to a company’s trade secrets–against companies’ own employees. Companies argue that when an employee transfers information without approval, this transfer can constitute improper “acquisition” of trade secrets under the trade secret statutes, even if the information was initially obtained lawfully. The paper reveals that many courts are accepting this theory. It proposes some suggestions for courts to refine their analysis to avoid imposing unwarranted liability and in order to adhere to the text and spirit of the statutes.