Intellectual Property: Trade Secrets

Trade secret protection has become one of the most important issues in intellectual property today. Technology becomes more important to industry every day, but information can be downloaded and shared more easily than ever before. The law has to strike a balance between encouraging and protecting commercial investment in research, and preserving an individual's right to change employment or to compete directly against a former employer. In addition to examining the law and the theory of trade secret protection, we will emphasize the practical aspects of protecting information as a trade secret. We will discuss the challenges and issues involved in litigating trade secret cases, creating corporate programs to protect trade secrets, and the increasingly important subject of protecting trade secrets internationally. We will feature several guest speakers, including individuals from the FBI, the Department of Justice, the judiciary, in-house counsel, and a forensic discovery specialist, each of whom will address trade secret law and practice from their own unique perspective. We will highlight topics of current interest, such as non-competition agreements, trade secrets and the Internet, and cybercrime, and will discuss in detail some of the most prominent trade secret cases of the past several years. The class will be of interest to students who expect to practice intellectual property law as well as to students who expect to be involved in corporate transactions and labor law. Elements used in grading: Class participation and final exam.