trade secret identification

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By Joshua Salinas and Jessica Mendelson

A Florida District Court of Appeal recently confirmed that plaintiffs in trade secret misappropriation cases must identify their trade secrets with reasonably particularity before conducting discovery. AAR Mfg., Inc. v. Matrix Composites, Inc., No. 5D11–3802, 2012 WL 3870419 (Fla.App. 5 Dist., 2012). The Court of Appeal, however, rejected the notion that, as…
Continue Reading Florida Court Rejects Argument That Plaintiff Must Make “Threshold Finding” of Trade Secret Before Proceeding With Discovery

A Nevada federal court recently held that a plaintiff must identify trade secrets with specificity prior to seeking discovery from the defendant regarding that claim, adding Nevada to the growing number of jurisdictions with that requirement.

In this case, Switch Communications Group v. Ballard, case no. 2:11-cv-00285-KJD-GWF, the plaintiff owned and operated computer data centers in Las Vegas. …
Continue Reading Nevada Federal Court Rules That Plaintiff Must Identify Trade Secrets With Specificity Before Serving Discovery

A recent California federal district court decision in FormFactor, Inc. v. Micro-Probe, Inc., Case No. C 10-3095 PJH highlights the importance of companies proactively taking measures to protect their trade secrets before litigation arises and specifically identifying trade secrets that have allegedly been misappropriated.

FormFactor, a company which designs, manufactures, sells and supports high-performance advanced wafer probe card assemblies…

Continue Reading California Federal District Court Issues Decision On Reasonable Secrecy Measures, Trade Secret Identification, and Preemption

In what has been a growing trend across the country, on April 20, 2012, a New York state court has required that a plaintiff specifically plead its trade secrets in detail before proceeding with discovery. In MSCI et al. v. Jacob, Axioma, New York State Supreme Court, New York County, No. 651451/2011, the complaint alleged misappropriation of source code…

Continue Reading In a Case of First Impression, a New York State Court Requires Specific Pleading of a Trade Secret Cause of Action Before Proceeding with Discovery

By Joshua Salinas

As a follow-up to yesterday’s blog entry about a new California trade secret designation decision, another important issue that trade secret litigators face is whether the pre-discovery trade secret identification requirements of California Code of Civil Procedure section 2019.210 apply in California federal court.  There is a split in authorities but recent cases suggest that California federal…

Continue Reading Does A Trade Secret Plaintiff Have To Disclose Its Trade Secrets Prior To The Commencement Of Discovery In California Federal Court?

The trend of some recent judicial decisions seems to reflect an increasing concern by courts that, notwithstanding trade secret misappropriation plaintiffs’ understandable reluctance to disclose proprietary information in more detail than absolutely necessary, they must describe with considerable specificity whatever is alleged to have been purloined. For example, a California district court ruled recently that “Whatever [the plaintiff] wishes to claim…

Continue Reading California Federal Court Holds That Trade Secret Misappropriation Defendant Need Not Respond To Plaintiff’s Discovery Requests Until Provided With Identification Of Information Claimed To Have Been Stolen

A recent opinion issued by a U.S. Magistrate Judge for the District of Colorado with respect to a discovery dispute in a trade secret misappropriation case may please defense counsel, but create headaches for plaintiffs’ lawyers, because the Court set harsh pleadings standards that plaintiffs must meet. The Court seems to have been more sympathetic (a) to the defendants’ and the court’s desire…

Continue Reading Colorado Magistrate Judge Outlines Stringent Pleading Requirements Which Must Be Satisfied Before Plaintiffs Alleging Trade Secret Misappropriation Can Compel Responses To Discovery Requests; Judge Also Encourages Filing Pleadings Under Seal