The owner of a trade secret must maintain its confidentiality to ensure that it will be protected under the trade secrets laws. If the trade secret is disclosed to others who are under no obligation to protect the confidentiality of the information or if the secret is publicly disclosed, then the trade secret is extinguished. The USTA and the state statutes on which it is based contain specific remedies for misappropriation of trade secrets. For example, the California Trade Secrets Act, Cal. 3426 et seq.
Damages are available to compensate for the actual loss sustained by the misappropriation.
The complaining party may also recover for the unjust enrichment caused by the misappropriation that is not accounted for in the actual damages awarded. Attorneys' fees can be awarded in cases where claims of misappropriation are made in bad faith. The issue first arose in the common scenario of a high-level manager leaving his employment for a competitor who has him work in the same field, often in competition with the former employer. Clearly, the approach has been applied and adopted by enough states that it is a part of the common law of trade secrets. While some courts have been reluctant to embrace it, the doctrine of inevitable disclosure has only rarely been rejected outright.