Fostering Economic Growth in the High-Technology Field: Washington Should Abandon its Recognition of the Inevitable Disclosure Doctrine
Citation: Sarah J. Taylor (2006) Fostering Economic Growth in the High-Technology Field: Washington Should Abandon its Recognition of the Inevitable Disclosure Doctrine. Seattle University Law Review (RSS)
Internet Archive Scholar (search for fulltext): Fostering Economic Growth in the High-Technology Field: Washington Should Abandon its Recognition of the Inevitable Disclosure Doctrine
Download: http://digitalcommons.law.seattleu.edu/sulr/vol30/iss2/7/
Tagged: noncompete (RSS)
Summary
Describes basics of non-competition covenants and trade secrets. Inevitable disclosure is a method of enjoining the threatened misappopriation of a trade secret, even without a non-competition covenant, used to restrict former employees to take jobs with a new employer where the employee will "inevitably disclose" trade secrets of former employer. For former employer, much lower standard/costs than trade secret litigation. Explores state of Washington's use of inevitable disclosure, argues doctrine should be rejected:
- conflicts with employee right to leave a job and pursue their livelihood
- difficult questions about what knowledge employee has vs what employer owns as trade secret; unfair to employee in weaker bargaining position
- creates noncompetition agreement where non existed
- forces courts to make prediction about future events
Additionally, doctrine is anticompetitive, threatens spillover effects that helped Silicon Valley succeed, and Washington already enforces noncompetition agreements.
