William M. Corrigan, Jr. & Jeffrey L. Schultz
63 J. Mo. B. 234 (2007)

This article includes a thorough analysis of the Missouri Uniform Trade Secrets Act and Missouri state and federal decisions that analyze the act, along with some practical considerations for protecting trade secrets. It also includes a discussion of discovery strategy in a trade secrets case.

Trade secret litigation often involves “high stakes” or “bet-the-business” cases. For example, in February 2007, in a case involving the misappropriation of trade secrets, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a jury verdict totaling more than $2 million in actual and punitive damages. Moreover, in 2004 the Eighth Circuit upheld an award of punitive damages in another trade secrets case, which it “remitted to $7 million.” As far back as 1997, General Motors and Volkswagon reached a $1.1 billion settlement in a trade secrets case concerning a former senior executive from General Motors who joined Volkswagen. Because trade secrets can be of tremendous value to businesses, the protections provided by the Missouri Uniform Trade Secrets Act (“MUTSA”) can be of critical importance to one's clients.