Specifically, the law prohibits improper appropriation of trade secrets. Improper appropriation includes obtaining a trade secret in a manner generally unacceptable under normal business standards, such as by theft. In addition, improper appropriation includes obtaining a trade secret in violation of an enforceable agreement, such as a license granted to a subcontractor to produce component parts, or a employment contract with an employee. The law will preclude an individual or company from using trade secret information where it appears that the infringer has obtained the trade secrets in an inappropriate manner. Trade secret law suits are common between employers and former employees that have left the original company to start a competitive business using the original company's methods and secrets.
Trademarks are a little different from the other forms of intellectual property.
They are designed to create an association between a particular product or service and the company that manufacturers or provides it. Trademark protection can be viewed as a method of protecting companies from competitors that would misappropriate their goodwill. It can also be viewed a method of protecting consumers from shoddy products that appear to have been manufactured by a reputable company. In any case, Trademark protection is essential in a economy such as ours in order to assure that consumers know what type of product or service they can expect to receive. You could image the problems that would result if any company were allowed to sell any product under the name of a competing company.