MICHAEL

PAPUC, ATTORNE

Y AT LAW: U.S.

TRADE SECRETS

LAW

U.S. TRADE SECRETS

LAW

San Francisco Attorney Michael Papuc is the owner of Law

Offices of Michael Papuc, and has expertise in trade secret

law in California and the United States. In taking cases

involving trade secrets and industrial espionage, Michael

Papuc is doing his part to maintain a legal and favorable

environment for clients to do business.

U.S. TRADE SECRETS

LAW

A trade secret, according to United States law and varying by jurisdiction, is “a pattern, instrument, design, product, process, practice, formula, or assemblage of information that renders an economic advantage to an enterprise (“the holder”) because it is not generally known or available to the public.” Unlike patents or trademarks, trade secrets are not protected under U.S. federal law, but instead are secured through statutory laws in the respective states, and therefore it is the holder’s responsibility to keep trade secrets secret. Under U.S. employment law, enterprises are entitled to safeguard their trade secrets from theft or misuse by company employees and business partners through nondisclosure contracts. In addition, since 1996, although reverse engineering and “employee poaching” are lawful, the U.S. Economic Espionage Act makes the theft of a trade secret a federal crime.