Non-Compete and Trade Secret Attorneys
Enforcing and defending restrictive covenants and protecting confidential information for Florida businesses, from our Miami office.
A key employee leaves with the customer list. A partner starts a competing company across the street. A vendor uses what it learned under a confidentiality agreement to bid against you. Florida law gives businesses tools for each of these, and it gives the departing employee or partner defences. Industria Business Lawyers represents both sides: the business enforcing a covenant or protecting a trade secret, and the individual or company accused of breaching one.
This page explains what Florida’s restrictive covenant statute requires before a court will enforce a non-compete, what the Florida Uniform Trade Secrets Act protects and how, the remedies and deadlines, and what to do in the first days, which is when these cases are usually won or lost. Every statute cited was read on the Florida Legislature’s site on 17 September 2026.
Every matter is assessed on its own facts.
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Non-Compete and Trade Secret Matters We Handle
Two Florida statutes govern this area, and most matters involve both.
Enforcing a Non-Compete
Under section 542.335, Florida Statutes, a contract that restricts competition is enforceable if it is reasonable in time, area, and line of business. A court will not enforce a restrictive covenant unless it is set out in a writing signed by the person against whom enforcement is sought, and the person seeking enforcement must plead and prove a legitimate business interest justifying the restriction.
Defending Against a Non-Compete
The same statute is the defence. A covenant that is not in a signed writing, that is broader than any legitimate business interest justifies, or that is unreasonable in time, area, or line of business is not enforced as written. IBL represents employees, former partners, and the companies that hire them.
Non-Solicitation and Confidentiality Agreements
Restrictions on soliciting customers or employees and on using confidential information, which section 542.335 treats as restrictive covenants subject to the same requirements.
Trade Secret Misappropriation
Under section 688.002, Florida Statutes, misappropriation includes acquiring a trade secret by improper means, such as theft, misrepresentation, or breach of a duty to maintain secrecy, and disclosing or using a trade secret without consent by a person who knew or had reason to know it was acquired improperly or under a duty of confidence.
Injunctions
Under section 688.003, actual or threatened misappropriation may be enjoined, and an injunction may continue for a reasonable period after the trade secret ceases to exist to eliminate the commercial advantage gained. Restrictive covenants are likewise enforced by injunction, and the first weeks of a case are spent obtaining or defeating one.
Damages and Unjust Enrichment
Under section 688.004, a complainant may recover damages for misappropriation, including both the actual loss caused and the unjust enrichment not taken into account in computing actual loss.
What the Statutes Require, and the Deadlines
These cases are decided on the writing, the business interest, and the speed of the response.
The covenant must be in a signed writing. Section 542.335 is explicit: no signed writing, no enforcement. The first document IBL asks for is the agreement the departing person actually signed, with every amendment and any later agreement that may have replaced it.
The enforcing party must prove a legitimate business interest. Trade secrets, confidential business information, substantial customer relationships, customer goodwill, and specialised training are the kinds of interests the statute recognises. A covenant that protects nothing the statute recognises is not enforced.
Reasonable in time, area, and line of business. The statute measures reasonableness against the interest being protected. A court that finds a covenant overbroad may modify it rather than refuse enforcement, and the argument over what is reasonable is often the whole case.
Trade secrets must have been protected. Information that was not kept secret is not a trade secret. Access controls, confidentiality agreements, and marking are the evidence.
The deadlines. Under section 688.007, Florida Statutes, an action for misappropriation must be brought within three years after the misappropriation is discovered or by reasonable diligence should have been discovered. A claim on the written covenant carries five years under section 95.11(2)(b). But injunctions are decided in days and weeks, and a business that waits months to act on a departing employee will find that delay used against it.
The forum. Many agreements select a court or require arbitration. Where they do not, the case is heard in circuit court under section 26.012 when the amount in controversy exceeds $50,000, and injunctions are sought there.
Next question: How are trade secrets litigated? Then: How is a commercial case assessed and run?
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The attorneys were incredibly responsive, guiding me through every step of the process with clarity and professionalism.
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Tell Us About Your Matter
How We Work a Non-Compete or Trade Secret Matter
Agreement and Interest Review +
The signed covenant with every amendment, the business interest it protects, and the evidence that the interest is real and was protected.
Preservation and Forensics +
Preservation demands to the departing person and the new employer; forensic review of devices, email, and cloud accounts for what was taken and when.
Written Assessment +
Whether the covenant meets section 542.335, whether the information is a trade secret under section 688.002, the forum, the deadline, and the remedy that fits: injunction, damages, or a negotiated standstill.
Demand and Standstill +
A demand to the individual and the new employer that sets out the covenant and the evidence, often producing a negotiated agreement that avoids litigation.
Injunction +
A motion for a temporary injunction supported by the evidence assembled in the first days, or, when IBL is defending, the opposition that holds the enforcing party to the statute.
Discovery and Mediation +
Forensic evidence, customer records, and depositions; court-ordered mediation with the evidence in hand.
Trial and Remedy +
Permanent injunction, damages under section 688.004, or judgment on the covenant, and fees where the agreement or statute provides for them.
FAQ
01 • Litigation Is my non-compete enforceable?
It depends on whether it is in a writing you signed, whether it protects a legitimate business interest the statute recognises, and whether it is reasonable in time, area, and line of business under section 542.335. Each is a fact question answered from the document and the business.
02 • Litigation I never signed anything. Can my former employer stop me competing?
Not under a restrictive covenant; section 542.335 requires a signed writing. Trade secret law is different: using information that was a trade secret can be enjoined under section 688.003 whether or not a covenant was signed.
03 • Litigation How fast do I need to act when an employee leaves with data?
Immediately. Preservation and forensic review in the first days, and a demand or injunction motion within weeks. Delay is the most common reason an injunction is denied.
04 • Litigation What does it cost?
Court fees are public and set by the clerk. How an engagement with IBL is structured depends on the matter. Contact the firm to discuss your situation.
05 • Litigation What should I bring to the first call?
The signed agreement and every amendment, the departing person’s role and access, what you believe was taken and how you know, the customers or employees affected, and the date you learned of it.
Talk to a Non-Compete and Trade Secret Attorney
701 Brickell Avenue, Suite 1550, Miami, FL 33131. Call (202) 860-1210 or send the agreement and a short description of what happened through the form. Every matter is reviewed on its own facts.
This page provides general information about restrictive covenants and trade secrets in Florida and does not constitute legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Last reviewed 17 September 2026. Florida statutes cited: sections 26.012, 95.11, 542.335, 688.002, 688.003, 688.004, and 688.007, Florida Statutes (2025).