Effective September 1, 2013 the Texas Uniform Trade Secrets Act becomes law. In the past, trade secret law in Texas has been largely governed by a large and sometimes confusing body of case law. Having a statute to rely upon should make it easier for companies to enforce their rights when their trade secrets are misappropriated and give clearer guidance as to what is considered a violation.
Highlights of the new bill are:
- It may now be easier for Texas companies to recover damages for trade secret theft.
- Customer data is included as the type of information that can be a protected trade secret, making it easier to obtain court relief against departing employees and unscrupulous competitors that misappropriate this data.
- A Company must use reasonable efforts to keep the information secret for it to be a trade secret entitled to protection.
- Injunctive relief, monetary damages, attorney fees and punitive damages may be awarded against the wrongdoers.