The Third Circuit has now added its voice to that of the Fourth and Tenth Circuits in holding on April 30, 2020, in Advanced Fluid Sys., Inc. v. Huber, No. 19-1722, 2020 WL 2078298 (3rd Cir. Apr. 30, 2020), applying Pennsylvania law, that ownership of a trade secret is not a prerequisite for a claim under the Uniform Trade Secrets Act, and that possession is sufficient. It adopted the reasoning of the Fourth Circuit decision in DTM Research, L.L.C. v. AT & T Corp., 245 F.3d 327 (4th Cir. 2001). The Tenth Circuit has also followed DTM in applying Oklahoma law and finding ownership was not a prerequisite. Gaedeke Holdings VII LTD v. Baker, 683 F. App’x 677, 684 (10th Cir. 2017). We agree with this result, and urge that this be the view for New Jersey courts to follow, as the issue does not appear to have arisen expressly here. Trade secrets are frequently licensed, and these decisions give the licensee, as well as the owner, the right and standing to protect their secrecy and be compensated for unlawful disclosure and use.

Factually, the Advanced Fluid court referred to a “sorry story of disloyalty and deception piled upon deception resulted in verdicts against the wrongdoers,” which result the court found “entirely justified.” Defendant Huber “stole confidential information” from his employer Advanced Fluid to “ingratiate himself” with a competitor (his second employer), and then created his own company to compete against his both his former and subsequent employer, winning the bid for the project issued by another defendant, thereby deceiving both of his employers and benefiting his new company.

This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.

To view this content, please continue to their sites.

Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Why am I seeing this?

LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.

For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]