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Cypress Semiconductor v. Silvaco Data Systems (5/30/08)

The question here was if a party stole a trade secret and then sold it to a third-party, when did the statute of limitations begin to run on any misappropriation claim that the trade secret owner might have against the third-party. The trial court held that the limitations period did not begin to run until the third-party had actual notice of the trade secret owner's claim to the information. The appellate court disagreed and held that the statute of limitations on a cause of action for misappropriation began to run when the plaintiff had any reason to suspect that the third-party knew or should have known that the information was a trade secret. The third-party's actual state of mind did not affect the running of the statute. Thus, in this case, the statute began to run when Silvaco had any reason to suspect that the CSI customers knew or should have known that they had acquired Silvaco's trade secrets.