Inevitable disclosure is a
legal doctrine
A legal doctrine is a framework, set of rules, procedural steps, or test, often established through precedent in the common law, through which judgments can be determined in a given legal case. A doctrine comes about when a judge makes a ruling ...
through which an employer can claim
trade secret
Trade secrets are a type of intellectual property that includes formulas, practices, processes, designs, instruments, patterns, or compilations of information that have inherent economic value because they are not generally known or readily a ...
to
enjoin
An injunction is a legal and equitable remedy in the form of a special court order that compels a party to do or refrain from specific acts. ("The court of appeals ... has exclusive jurisdiction to enjoin, set aside, suspend (in whole or in par ...
a former employee from working in a job that may result in the use of trade secrets without the need for proof or evidence.
The inevitable-disclosure doctrine is one's means in demonstrating a revelation of trade secrets, and some have recently found some renewed judicial support. Where it is acceptable, the doctrine allows the court to find that a former employee would disclose proprietary information in their position with a new employer, even if there is no evidence of actual disclosure. Thus, allowing a company to make a critical showing, when it can't do so if required to come forward with evidence of misconduct. However, because it also rests on a prediction about a future harm, inevitable disclosure also is in tension with the general principle that injunctive relief will not be given to prevent a conjectural injury at any means.
External links
Inevitable Disclosure of Trade Secretsby Ivan Hoffman
by Cameron G. Shilling
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ttp://www.weil.com/~/media/files/pdfs/inevitable_disclosure The Inevitable Disclosure of Trade Secrets: The Rebirth of a Controversial Doctrine and Where the Courts Standby Jeffrey S. Klein and Gregory Silbert, Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP
Intellectual property law
Trade secrets
Legal doctrines and principles
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