Source: https://www.psmn.com/Protecting-Trade-Secrets-in-Pennsylvania.shtml
Timestamp: 2019-04-20 16:33:40+00:00

Document:
A business has multiple ways of protecting its intellectual property, from copyrights, trademarks, patents or trade secrets. Each of these various legal devices comes with its own limitations and requirements. One of the easiest ways to protect intellectual property is through the use of trade secrets.
1 The Pennsylvania Uniform Trade Secrets Act is codified at 12 Pa.C.S. § 5301-5308.
2 12 Pa. C.S. § 5308; Firstrust Bank v. DiDio, No. 200 March Term 2005, 2005 Phila. Ct. Com. Pl. LEXIS 376, 2005 WL 2001105 (C.P. Phila. July 29, 2005).
3 12 Pa.C.S. § 5302.
5 12 Pa.C.S. § 5302.
6 See A.M. Skier Agency, Inc. v. Gold, 747 A.2d 936, 941 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2000).
7 Dibble v. Penn State Geisinger Clinic, 806 A.2d 866, 871 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2002).
8 See Christopher M's Hand Poured Fudge v. Hennon, 699 A.2d 1271, 1275 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1997) (owner kept only one written copy of recipe stored off the premises of the business, compartmentalized the manufacturing process so that most employees would only know portions of the recipe necessary for his or her task, and only revealing the full recipe to a few key employees).
16 Fisher Bioservices, Inc. v. Bilcare, Inc., Civil Action No. 06-567, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 34841, * 50 (E.D. Pa. May 31, 2006).
18 Pittsburgh Cut Wire Co. v. Sufrin, 38 A.2d 33, 34 (Pa. 1944).
19 Capital Bakers, Inc. v. Townsend, 231 A.2d 292, 294 (Pa. 1967).
20 See Hardy v. Trs. of the Univ. of Pa., No. 2178, April Term 2007, 2008 Phila. Ct. Com. Pl. LEXIS 42 (C.P. Phila. February 21, 2008) (refusing to protect educational program curriculum as trade secret because widely marketed and easily accessible); see also Tyson Metal Products, Inc. v. McCann, 546 A.2d 119, 121-22 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1988) (court refused to protect a list of prices charged by company's suppliers which was used to calculated bids because competitor could call supplier and readily obtain information contained in the list).
21 See Fidelity Fund, Inc. v. Di Santo, 500 A.2d 431, 438 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1985) (refusing to protect customer list where customers were developed individually by former employee while working for plaintiff company or known to former employee prior to employment with plaintiff company).
22 See SI Handling Systems, Inc. v. Heisley, 753 F.2d 1244, 1255 (3d Cir. 1985) (holding that formulas that are susceptible to reverse engineering are not protected as trade secrets because the information they contain is easily obtainable).
23 12 Pa.C.S. § 5302.
24 12 Pa.C.S. § 5307.
25 See 12 Pa.C.S. § 5307; compare Uniform Trade Secrets Act § 6.
26 12 Pa.C.S. § 5304.
27 12 Pa.C.S. § 5304(a).
28 12 Pa.C.S. § 5304.
29 12 Pa.C.S. § 5302.
30 12 Pa.C.S. § 5304(b).
31 12 Pa.C.S. § 5305.
32 12 Pa.C.S. § 5303.
33 Iron Age Corp. v. Dvorak, 880 A.2d 657, 662 (Pa. Super. 2005).
34 12 Pa.C.S. § 5303.
35 12 Pa.C.S. § 5306.
37 Crum v. Bridgestone/Firestone N. Am. Tire, LLC, 907 A.2d 578, 586-87 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2006).

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 § 5302
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