Ensuring that Trade Secrets Stay Secret

One of the NFL’s most legendary football coaches, Vince Lombardi, is known for fiery speeches extolling his players that “Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.”  Yet, when triumph on the battlefield is so costly it actually destroys the “winner,” it is known as a “Pyrrhic victory,” named in honor of Greek King Pyrrhus, who lost most of his army in two “successful” battles with the Romans.

This prospect of a Pyrrhic victory—a success that rings hollow—is something that business owners in Texas faced until recently when they filed lawsuits to protect their company’s trade secrets from misuse by former employees and competitors.   The danger was posed because the company was generally required to disclose its trade secrets during discovery in the lawsuit to permit the competitor to mount a defense to the company’s claims.  Thus, in fighting to protect trade secrets from misuse by competitors, the business owner was given the Hobson’s choice of foregoing legal action or filing a lawsuit in which the company would be required to reveal its trade secrets to a business rival.  To a business owner, winning the legal battle to protect the company’s trade secrets could often feel like losing the war. 
Continue Reading Texas Supreme Court’s Recent Decision Helps Business Owners Keep the Wraps on Company Trade Secrets During Litigation