The Contract Exception to the Uniform Trade Secrets Act and its Implications for the Federal Defend Trade Secrets Act

The state statutory remedies for trade secret misappropriation and the new federal statutory remedies in the 2016 federal Defend Trade Secrets Act must be coordinated with both each other and with state enforcement of restrictive employment covenants. Whenever both statutory and contractual remedies are sought, a double monetary recovery for a single wrong must be avoided. A statutory remedy should not prohibit conduct that state restrictive employment covenant policy does not allow to be restricted. The fact that state restrictive covenant policy can protect confidential information that does not qualify for trade secret protection also must not be allowed to erode the statutory definition of trade secret