Traverse City Trade Secret Attorney featured image

Traverse City Trade Secret Attorney

by Eric Misterovich

Partner

Corporate

Traverse City trade secret attorneys Revision Legal, help businesses protect the information that gives them a edge over the competition. Trade secrets are an often-underutilized form of intellectual property. But when it’s at risk of being disclosed, the stakes couldn’t be higher.

Michigan Trade Secret Law

Picture this. A company has spent years analyzing its non-public customer data to create a a program, compilation, or formula that allows the company to find buying customers more often and service them at a lower price. However, a high-level executive has recently left to join a competing business. Can he take the company’s work with him? What would your company do?

Traditionally, businesses use confidentiality, non-competition, and non-solicitation agreements to protect their business assets. But the Michigan Uniform Trade Secrets Act (MUTSA) can also provide an avenue of relief. Specifically, the MUTSA gives businesses the option to stop, or prevent, the unauthorized use or disclosure of trade secrets.

How to Define a Trade Secret

Michigan law defines a trade secret as “information, including a formula, pattern, compilation, program, device, method, technique, or process, that is both of the following:

(i) Derives independent economic value, actual or potential, from not being generally known to, and not being readily ascertainable by proper means by, other persons who can obtain economic value from its disclosure or use.

(ii) Is the subject of efforts that are reasonable under the circumstances to maintain its secrecy.”

Although state law provides a definition, many trade secret cases turn on whether the information at issue actually represents a trade secret. For example, vendor lists, customer lists, and customer information may or may not be a protectable trade secret, depending on the facts of each case. For more information about how these groups of information can be protected as a trade secret, click here.

Trade Secret Litigation

Traverse City trade secret attorneys Revision Legal have prosecuted and defended trade secret cases. Whether your businesses need to prevent the disclosure of information, or you need to defend a claim for misappropriation of trade secrets, Revision Legal can help.

Contact Revision Legal today to schedule a consultation regarding your trade secret issue by completing the contact form on this page or by calling 231-714-0100.

Extra, Extra!
Recent Posts

Can You Claim Your Dietary Supplements are “Healthy” on the Packaging?

Can You Claim Your Dietary Supplements are “Healthy” on the Packaging?

Corporate

The answer is legally complicated since the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) has defined the term “healthy” to apply to foods, not dietary supplements. On the other hand, in some circumstances, certain types of oils — like olive oil — are now eligible to use the “healthy” label. Thus, if your supplement is an oil […]

Read more about Can You Claim Your Dietary Supplements are “Healthy” on the Packaging?

Avoiding “Naked” Trademark Licensing With Superior Licensing Agreements

Avoiding “Naked” Trademark Licensing With Superior Licensing Agreements

Trademark

If nurtured properly, trademarks can continue to function indefinitely, bringing continued and increasing value to the owners. There are, however, ways that trademarks can be “lost.” As an example, a trademark can be abandoned through lack of use or can be lost to the general public through the process of genericide. That happens when the […]

Read more about Avoiding “Naked” Trademark Licensing With Superior Licensing Agreements

Put Revision Legal on your side