Trade Secret Litigation Attorneys
Injunctions, damages, and defense in trade secret disputes under the Florida Uniform Trade Secrets Act and the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act.
A trade secret case usually starts with a departure. An employee leaves for a competitor, a partner exits with the customer list, a vendor uses what it learned on the job for someone else. The business then has to decide whether what was taken is a trade secret, whether it was misappropriated, and whether to seek an injunction while the information still has value.
Industria Business Lawyers represents businesses on both sides of trade secret disputes: the company whose information was taken, and the company or individual accused of taking it. Florida’s Uniform Trade Secrets Act, chapter 688 of the Florida Statutes, and the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act, 18 U.S.C. 1836, each provide a civil action, an injunction remedy, and damages, and the two are usually pleaded together. Not every confidential document is a trade secret, and the first question is always whether the information meets the statutory definition. A consultation is free.
Trade Secret Disputes We Handle
The statutes define the terms precisely, and the cases are decided on those definitions.
Whether the Information Is a Trade Secret
Under section 688.002(4), Florida Statutes, a trade secret is information that derives independent economic value, actual or potential, from not being generally known to, and not being readily ascertainable by proper means by, others who could obtain economic value from it, and that is the subject of reasonable efforts to maintain its secrecy. The federal definition at 18 U.S.C. 1839(3) is to the same effect and requires that the owner has taken reasonable measures to keep the information secret. What the business actually did to protect the information decides this question more often than the information itself.
Whether It Was Misappropriated
Under section 688.002(2), Florida Statutes, misappropriation includes acquisition of a trade secret by a person who knows or has reason to know it was acquired by improper means, and disclosure or use without consent by a person who used improper means or who knew or had reason to know the knowledge came from someone who used improper means or was acquired under a duty to maintain its secrecy or limit its use. Improper means under 688.002(1) includes theft, bribery, misrepresentation, breach or inducement of a breach of a duty to maintain secrecy, and espionage through electronic or other means. Under the federal act, 18 U.S.C. 1839(6)(B), improper means does not include reverse engineering, independent derivation, or any other lawful means of acquisition.
Emergency Injunctions
Section 688.003(1), Florida Statutes, provides that actual or threatened misappropriation may be enjoined, and that an injunction may continue for a reasonable period after the secret ceases to exist to eliminate the commercial advantage gained. The federal act at 18 U.S.C. 1836(b)(3)(A) allows an injunction to prevent actual or threatened misappropriation, provided the order does not prevent a person from entering an employment relationship. The timing of the motion and the evidence behind it decide this phase.
Damages and Royalties
Section 688.004(1), Florida Statutes, allows recovery of the actual loss caused by misappropriation and the unjust enrichment not taken into account in computing actual loss, or, in lieu of those measures, a reasonable royalty for the unauthorized use. Proving damages requires showing what the secret was worth and what the defendant gained, which is valuation work that starts early.
Attorney's Fees and Bad Faith
Section 688.005, Florida Statutes, permits a court to award reasonable attorney’s fees to the prevailing party where a claim of misappropriation is made in bad faith, a motion to terminate an injunction is made or resisted in bad faith, or willful and malicious misappropriation exists. The fee exposure runs both ways, which shapes how each side pleads.
Defending an Accusation
A business hired an employee from a competitor and now faces a demand letter or a lawsuit. The defenses are the definitions: the information was generally known or readily ascertainable, the owner did not take reasonable measures, the knowledge was independently developed or reverse engineered, or the alleged secret is really general skill and experience. We also address the employment restrictions the federal act places on injunctions.
State Claim, Federal Claim, and Where the Case Is Filed
Most trade secret cases plead both statutes. The choice of court follows from that.
Florida’s act. Chapter 688 governs misappropriation claims under Florida law, whether they are filed in state court or brought in federal court alongside a federal claim. Under section 688.007, Florida Statutes, an action must be brought within three years after the misappropriation is discovered or by reasonable diligence should have been discovered, and a continuing misappropriation is a single claim.
The federal act. The Defend Trade Secrets Act gives the owner of a trade secret a federal civil action where the secret is related to a product or service used in, or intended for use in, interstate or foreign commerce, with its own limitation period, injunction and damages provisions, and access to federal court. Pleading it alongside the state claim gives the plaintiff the choice of forum.
Restrictive covenants. Trade secret claims frequently accompany non-compete, non-solicitation, and confidentiality agreement claims, which Florida governs separately under section 542.335 and, for covered agreements with employees and contractors earning more than twice the annual mean wage of the relevant county, the CHOICE Act, sections 542.41 to 542.45. The two sets of claims support each other but are analyzed under different rules.
Both sides of the case. The same definitions frame the plaintiff’s proof and the defendant’s response, so each matter begins with the information itself, the measures taken to protect it, and how it moved.
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How We Work a Trade Secret Matter
What was taken, by whom, when it was discovered, what protective measures existed, and whether an injunction is realistic.
Forensic preservation of devices, accounts, and access logs on both sides, and litigation hold notices, before anything is overwritten.
Each item of information against the statutory definition: economic value from secrecy, not readily ascertainable, and reasonable measures to protect it.
How the information was acquired, disclosed, or used, against the improper means and knowledge requirements of the statutes.
The emergency filing under section 688.003, Florida Statutes, or the federal act, or the response to one, with the evidence the court needs to rule.
Discovery, valuation work on damages or royalty, and the claims and defenses under both statutes through trial.
Settlement terms, consent injunctions, and the confidentiality and access controls going forward.
FAQ
01 • Business Disputes What makes information a trade secret in Florida?
Under section 688.002(4), Florida Statutes, information that derives independent economic value, actual or potential, from not being generally known or readily ascertainable by proper means, and that is the subject of reasonable efforts to maintain its secrecy. Customer lists, pricing, formulas, processes, and source code can qualify. A label of confidential is not enough on its own.
02 • Business Disputes An employee left with our customer list. What can we do?
If the list meets the definition and was taken by improper means or in breach of a duty of secrecy, section 688.003, Florida Statutes, allows actual or threatened misappropriation to be enjoined, and section 688.004 allows damages. The first step is preserving the evidence and assessing whether an emergency injunction is realistic. Any non-solicitation or confidentiality agreement the employee signed is analyzed alongside.
03 • Business Disputes How long do we have to sue?
Under section 688.007, Florida Statutes, three years after the misappropriation is discovered or by reasonable diligence should have been discovered, with a continuing misappropriation treated as a single claim. The federal act has its own limitation period.
04 • Business Disputes Can a court stop the person from working for a competitor?
An injunction under the federal act may not prevent a person from entering an employment relationship, and conditions on employment must be based on evidence of threatened misappropriation rather than merely on what the person knows. Florida’s act allows an injunction against actual or threatened misappropriation. Whether either supports restrictions on a particular person’s work depends on the evidence and on any restrictive covenant.
05 • Business Disputes We have been accused of misappropriation. What are the defenses?
That the information is not a trade secret because it was generally known, readily ascertainable, or not reasonably protected; that it was independently developed or reverse engineered; that no improper means were used; or that what is claimed is general skill and experience rather than a secret. Section 688.005, Florida Statutes, also allows fees against a claim made in bad faith.
Businesses in Florida, Washington, D.C., and Massachusetts. Call (202) 860-1210 or describe the situation through the form. Free consultation. Not every confidential document is a trade secret, and we will review whether yours may qualify and what options are available.
This page provides general information about trade secret litigation under Florida and federal law and does not constitute legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship with Industria Business Lawyers. Whether a particular business has a claim or a defense depends on its specific facts and the law in force. Statutes cited are subject to change.