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You are viewing ARCHIVED CONTENT released online between 1 April 2010 and 24 August 2018 or content that has been selectively archived and is no longer active. Content in this archive is NOT UPDATED, and links may not function.Article extract by Corey Goerdt of Fisher & Phillips LLP
One question that often arises in the trade secret practice is what information, if any, can be protectable as confidential information even if it does not qualify under state law as a trade secret. In other words, what is the value of having a non-disclosure of confidential information provision in an agreement? What does that type of provision do that statutory or common law trade secret protections don’t already provide?
A recent case from the Sixth Circuit illustrates the value of non-disclosure provisions. Put simply, Texas law allows employers to enforce nondisclosure provisions covering “confidential information” that does not qualify for protection as a trade secret. That is the holding from a recent Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals decision reversing a district court holding and finding liability against a former medical device salesman for breach of a non-disclosure agreement with his former employer, even though the information he disclosed was not a trade secret. The case is Orthofix, Inc. v. Hunter, No. 15-3216, 2015 WL 7252996 (6th Cir. Nov. 17, 2015).
Read the complete article at Confidential Information that isn’t a Trade Secret?