A Conflicting Tune: Texas Courts Differ On Trade Secret Preemption

In The Beatles’ song “Hello, Goodbye,” Sir Paul McCartney sings about conflicting instructions for the listener: “You say yes, I say no. You say stop, and I say go go go.” Well, when dealing with trade secret preemption, courts across the United States are singing the same conflicting tune, and Texas is joining in the song. Alternative theories of relief in trade secret litigation is a concept courts often struggle with when faced with statutory preemption provisions like the ones contained in various states’ Uniform Trade Secrets Act (UTSA). The crux of the debate is whether UTSA preempts alternative theories of relief that are grounded on information that does not qualify as a “trade secret.” 

In this article published by the Texas Lawyer, Eversheds Sutherland attorneys Michael Woodson and John Hays discuss whether a party can say “goodbye” or “hello” to preemption.