Fishkin v. Susquehanna Partners, G.P.

The court found for counterclaim defendants on Susquehanna's misappropriation of trade secrets claim, as Susquehanna had failed to meet its burden of proving the existence of a protected trade secret. In short, the Dow Fair Value concept, formula, and spreadsheet were too widely known and too easily ascertainable to constitute protected trade secrets. The Dow Fair Value concept and formula were not unique to Susquehanna and were known and used by other traders. Several of these traders used the concept before 1999, when Susquehanna's employee Wisniewski first discovered it. The Dow Fair Value concept, formula, and spreadsheet that Susquehanna claimed as its trade secrets were not created by Susquehanna's own independent efforts, but were developed by others.