Why does the law protect trade secrets?
In the seminal case of Kewanee Oil Co. v. Bicron Corp., 416 U.S. 470 (1974), the United States Supreme Court stated two policy reasons supporting legal protection of trade secrets: encourage innovation and preserve commercial morality. Important countervailing legal policies may outweigh these policies, however, in specific circumstances. For example, consider the interplay between trade secret law and the First Amendment. An injunction restraining a defendants publication of trade secrets might constitute an invalid prior restraint of free speech in violation of the First Amendment. RP is well versed in the applicable policies.
