TRADE SECRET

To be found liable in a lawsuit for disclosing or using a trade secret, the defendant must have known or had reason to know that the information was a trade secret. California Civil Code § 3426.1(b)(2). As opposed to other forms of intellectual property violations, trade secret misappropriation is an intentional tort. Cypress Semiconductor Corp. v. Superior Court, 163 Cal.App.4th 575, 585 (2008). The mere fact that a former employee possesses a trade secret without additional evidence that the trade secret will be misused or disclosed is insufficient to obtain relief or an order from a court. Pellerin v. Honeywell Intern., Inc., 877 F.Supp.2d 983 (S.D. Cal. 2012).