About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

15 N.Y.U. J.L. & Bus. 61 (2018-2019)
Skill or Secret? - The Line between Trade Secrets and Employee General Skills and Knowledge

handle is hein.journals/nyujolbu15 and id is 67 raw text is: NEW YORK UNIVERSITY JOURNAL OF LAW & BUSINESS VOLUME 15 FALL 2018 NUMBER 1 SKILL OR SECRET? - THE LINE BETWEEN TRADE SECRETS AND EMPLOYEE GENERAL SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE KURT M. SAUNDERS AND NINA GOLDEN* Information is not knowledge.' As agents, employees owe a duty of loyalty and confidentiality to their current and former employers not to use or disclose proprietary confidential information, which can be protected as a trade secret. Nevertheless, former employees are free to use general knowledge, skills, and experience acquired on the job without incurring liability for trade secret misappropriation. This rule is tied to the need to protect competition and employee mobility. How- ever, the line between employer trade secrets and employee general knowledge and skills acquired during employment is not always clear and the courts have not always been consistent in differentiating between the two. This article details the results of a study to explore the factors relied upon by courts in reaching their determinations. INTRODUCTION ......................................... 62 I. THE INTERSECTION OF AGENCY LAW AND TRADE, SECRETS LAW ......................................... 65 A. Agency Relationships .......................... 65 B. Agent's Fiduciary Duties ...................... 66 C. Scope of Trade Secret Protection ................ 70 * Kurt M. Saunders is Professor of Business Law at California State Uni- versity, Northridge. Nina Golden is Professor of Business Law at California State University, Northridge. The authors gratefully acknowledge Business Honors student, Amy Barnes, David Nazarian College of Business and Eco- nomics, California State University, Northridge, for her exceptional work as- sisting us with the research for this project. 1. FRANK ZAPPA, Packard Goose, onJOE's GAACAE, ACT III (Zappa Records 1979). 61 Imaged with Permission of N.Y.U. Journal of Law & Business

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most