In our last article we looked at what is a trade secret, and case law that addressed the question.

In Thomas v. Alloy Fasteners, Inc., 664 So. 2d 59 (Fla. 5th DCA 1995) the Florida court ruled that “there is nothing magical or secret” about the customer lists and cold-calling method used by Alloy’s former employee. And because the potential customers’ names and contact information could be obtained from public sources, there was no secret as to the class of likely customers.

In Templeton v. Creative Loafing Tampa, Inc., 552 So. 2d 288 (Fla. 2d D.C.A. 1989), the court reached a similar decision. During his time with Creative Loafing, Templeton developed relationships with advertising clients and various other contacts. He knew many on a first name basis and continued to reach out to the contacts after he was no longer employed with the company.

The court also stated “an employer may not preclude its former employee from utilizing contacts and expertise gained during his former employment.” Templeton knew the contacts on a first name basis and because there was no “secret” process to obtaining their identities, the list of contacts was not a trade secret protected under the Florida statute.

How can you prove the existence of a trade secret?

To prove a trade secret actually exists, the law says that a business must show:

• That the process is secret and not accessible to the general public or your competition;
• The extent of measures taken by you to guard the secrecy of the information;
• The value of the information to you and your competitors;
• The extent to which the information is known outside of your business;
• The extent to which it is known by employees and others involved in your business;
• The amount of effort or money expended by you in developing the information; and
• The ease or difficulty with which the information could be properly acquired or duplicated by others. Thomas v. Alloy Fasteners, Inc.

If you are unable to prove a business process is a trade secret, you may not be able to take legal action to protect your trade secrets from former employees.

Contact our business lawyers to discuss steps you can take to protect your company’s trade secrets. You can use this form to email or call us at (954) 779-7009.