Charges of trade secret theft often involve complex legal issues and the threat of severe penalties. However, an accusation does not necessarily mean a person actually committed the act, and defendants have a right to refute the charges.
Several defenses are possible arguments for fighting such allegations. Understanding these strategies is the initial step in helping an accused person establish innocence.
The defendant had a lack of intent
In many cases, the prosecution must prove that the accused intentionally stole or misused trade secrets for personal gain. If the defense can show that there was no intent to commit theft, a defendant may be able to get the court to drop or at least reduce the charges.
The information is not a trade secret
In Georgia, not all confidential information is a trade secret under the law. To be a trade secret, the information must have economic value and be generally unknown by others. The owner must also have made reasonable efforts to keep the details private.
If the prosecution cannot prove that the information meets the preceding criteria, the charges may not hold up. Another way to establish that information does not qualify as a trade secret is to demonstrate that it was already public or easily accessible.
The accused legally acquired the information
The defense team can also present evidence of independent development, meaning the accused party developed similar technology through their own efforts. Likewise, reverse engineering is a valid argument. Reverse engineering involves legally analyzing a public product to create a new one. Additionally, defendants could show that they legally acquired the supposed secret through legal means such as purchase, permission, or public access.
These defenses highlight that accusations of trade secret theft are not always open-and-shut cases. Awareness of these common defenses is a possible pathway to succeeding in a case.
