Washington’s Uniform Trade Secrets Act, RCW 19.108.010, et seq., (“UTSA”) provides the owners of trade secrets with rights and remedies against misappropriation.  Specifically, UTSA prohibits the misappropriation of information that derives actual or potential economic value, which is not generally known to the public, and is subject to reasonable efforts to maintain its “secrecy”.  In other words, UTSA protects information that is valuable because it is somewhat “secret”. Moreover, UTSA provides that attorney fees may be awarded to a prevailing party if a wrongdoer has willfully or maliciously misappropriated the trade secret.

 The vast majority of general business clients miss trade secret claims, in part due to an erroneously narrow view of the type of products and information that qualify for trade secret protection, an erroneously narrow view of the efforts needed to protect this information, and mistaken beliefs about how an opposing party can “take” this information without permission or authority. 

This week, Shaw Law Group helped one of our business clients to settle claims (including trade secrets claims) against one of its former employees.

The case involved an employee who left to form his own competing business.

In the process of leaving employment, the employee allegedly committed a series of acts which eliminated Shaw Law Group’s client’s obligation to make further independent payments to the departing employee.  Such alleged acts included taking customer lists and other confidential and proprietary information belonging to our client, using this confidential and proprietary information to under-bid our client for several projects, and inducing one of our client’s employees to work for his new business.  Our client successfully defended contract claims and filed counter claims against the employee, alleging that the employee’s actions amounted to breach of contract and violated UTSA. 

 Understanding that trade secrets are critical to our client’s success, Shaw Law Group negotiated a successful settlement of this matter.