Non-disclosure and Trade

M Winkelman writes:
>
> Even though that information is public,
> it is not generally perceived as applicable to the business I'm
> in and it definitely is not a KNOWN fact that I'm using that
> public information to give my business a competitive advantage.
>
> The need for an NDA would seem to be a requirement here just to
> be able to maintain the trade secret.

The trial lawyer's perspective, an NDA in this situation seems fruitless, because it forces you to prove the negative -- viz., that the discloser did not get the public information from any other source than the holder of the "trade secret".

The public policy perspective, it also seems to me that such an NDA would be un- enforceable, since it permits private individuals to put fences around the use of information in the public domain, placing their employees at a competitive disadvantage in the job market-- something which, at least in California, is strongly disfavored.

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 ~ KWQ/2 1.2b ~ 
Harry L. Styron
<harry_s[_at_]holonet.net>