Business Law Discuss the Doctrine Term Paper

Total Length: 1088 words ( 4 double-spaced pages)

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A company cannot refuse to hire someone with sickle cell anemia (a disease that primarily affects persons of African ancestry), because the person might require costly health insurance, for so long as the person was strong enough to perform the job, discrimination would not be acceptable as it would affect persons disproportionately of one racial category.

Question

Explain trade secret and how it could be protected legally and in day-to-day operations. Provide an example.

According to Nolo.com, an online legal dictionary, a trade secret is:

in] most states, a formula, pattern, physical device, idea, process, compilation of information or other information that 1) provides a business with a competitive advantage, and 2) is treated in a way that can reasonably be expected to prevent the public or competitors from learning about it, absent improper acquisition or theft" ("trade secret, 2007, Nolo.com). Perhaps the most famous trade secret in business is that of the Coca-Cola formula. Note as well that part of what makes a trade secret a legally protected secret is the level of the enterprise's vigilance in protecting said secret.

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Courts are usually unsympathetic to businesses that have not tried to protect their trade secrets with great vigilance, and complain only after they have been taken, because trade secrets are supposed to be unique, and integral to the functioning of the business and its ability to distinguish itself from competitors (Elias, 1998)

Examples that the courts treat as trade secret theft include disclosures by key employees in positions of trust to people outside of the business, disclosures by employees in violation of a confidentiality agreements, disclosures by contracted employees who signed nondisclosure agreements with the trade secret owner, industrial espionage, and disclosures people "owing an implied duty to the employer not to make such disclosure, such as directors, corporate offices and other high-level salaried employees" (Elias, 1998). Restitution may include a court injunction not to reveal the information, financial restitution for the harms done to the company, or prosecution for theft (Elias, 1998)

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"Business Law Discuss The Doctrine" (2007, April 08) Retrieved May 29, 2025, from
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