Opinion ID: 3066520
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Unfair Trade Practices Claims

Text: The district court held that On-Line’s unfair trade practices claims are preempted by CUTSA. In its complaint, On-Line raised claims against Perkin-Elmer under the Connecticut Uniform Trade Practices Act. Specifically, On-Line alleged that Perkin-Elmer had improperly used trade secrets obtained from On-Line to make its own products and had represented to a variety of parties that OnLine’s trade secrets were its own. The district court concluded that those allegations constituted nothing more than CUTSA violations and that the unfair trade practice claims were therefore preempted by section 37-57(a). On-Line argues that because Perkin-Elmer gained access to its trade secrets under the guise of offering a license agreement, its claims are not preempted by CUTSA. We cannot agree. All of OnLine’s allegations relate to the misappropriation of trade secrets, as is clear from On-Line’s complaint, which relies upon Perkin-Elmer’s alleged acquisition and use of On-Line’s confidential information. As a result, we agree with the trial court that CUTSA preempts On-Line’s unfair trade practices claims.