Chicago Trade Secret Litigation

Trade Secrets | King & Jones

When Your Most Valuable Business Information Is Stolen, Every Hour Counts

A trade secret can be the most valuable asset your business owns — a proprietary formula, a client list built over decades, a software algorithm, a manufacturing process, or a pricing strategy your competitors would pay anything to know. When that information is stolen by a departing employee, a former partner, or a competitor willing to cut corners, the damage can be swift, severe, and difficult to undo.

At King & Jones, we represent businesses and individuals in trade secret disputes — pursuing those who misappropriate confidential information and defending those who have been wrongfully accused of doing so. Our litigators have spent decades handling complex commercial disputes, and we bring that same investigative rigor, strategic depth, and courtroom experience to every trade secret case we take on.

What Is a Trade Secret?

A trade secret is any business information that derives economic value from not being generally known or readily ascertainable — and that its owner takes reasonable steps to keep confidential. Trade secrets are protected under both federal law (the Defend Trade Secrets Act) and state law (including the Illinois Trade Secrets Act), giving victims of misappropriation powerful legal tools to pursue relief.

Common examples of protectable trade secrets include:

• Customer and client lists — Compiled through years of relationship-building and sales effort
• Proprietary formulas and processes — Manufacturing methods, recipes, or technical procedures not available to the public
• Software and source code — Internally developed technology, algorithms, and systems
• Business strategies and financial data — Pricing models, margin structures, expansion plans, and competitive analyses
• Vendor and supplier information — Supply chain relationships and negotiated terms
• Research and development data — Pre-market discoveries, clinical data, and technical findings

What Is Trade Secret Misappropriation?

Misappropriation occurs when someone acquires, discloses, or uses a trade secret through improper means — or breaches a duty of confidentiality to obtain it. It doesn’t always look like corporate espionage. In practice, trade secret theft often involves:

• A departing employee taking confidential files, contact lists, or proprietary data to a competitor
• A former partner or co-founder using shared business knowledge to launch a competing venture
• A contractor or vendor misusing confidential information disclosed during a business relationship
• A competitor acquiring trade secrets through bribery, hacking, or deception
• An employee who, after signing a confidentiality agreement, shares protected information anyway

Do You Have a Trade Secret Claim?

To establish a trade secret misappropriation claim, you generally need to show:

1. The information qualifies as a trade secret — It has independent economic value and was kept confidential through reasonable measures
2. Misappropriation occurred — The information was acquired, disclosed, or used through improper means or in breach of a confidentiality obligation
3. You suffered harm — The misappropriation caused quantifiable damage to your business, competitive position, or relationships

Early legal action is often critical. Courts can issue emergency injunctive relief — including temporary restraining orders — to stop the ongoing use or disclosure of stolen information before the damage becomes irreversible.

Types of Trade Secret Disputes We Handle

King & Jones represents clients across the full spectrum of trade secret matters, including:

• Employee and executive departures — Misappropriation by employees who leave with confidential data, client lists, or proprietary technology
• Competitor intelligence theft — Systematic efforts by rivals to obtain protected business information through improper means
• Breach of confidentiality and NDA violations — Cases where contractual obligations to protect information have been ignored or circumvented
• Joint venture and partnership disputes — Misuse of confidential information shared during a business collaboration that later dissolved
• Technology and software theft — Misappropriation of source code, algorithms, and proprietary systems
• Defense of misappropriation claims — Representing individuals and businesses accused of trade secret theft, including where the claimed “secret” does not qualify for protection or was independently developed

Representing Both Plaintiffs and Defendants

Trade secret allegations are serious on both sides. For businesses and individuals whose confidential information has been stolen, swift and aggressive action can mean the difference between containing the damage and watching a competitor use your own work against you. For those accused of misappropriation, the stakes are equally high — a well-resourced adversary can use trade secret litigation as a weapon to stifle competition, tie up resources, and damage reputations even when the underlying claim is weak.

For plaintiffs, we move quickly to investigate the scope of the theft, preserve evidence, and pursue all available remedies — including emergency injunctions, damages, and, where warranted, attorney’s fees.

For defendants, we scrutinize whether the information at issue truly qualifies as a trade secret, whether the plaintiff took the steps necessary to protect it, and whether our client actually misappropriated anything — or simply used their own knowledge, skills, and legitimately obtained information.

Having litigated trade secret cases from both sides for decades, we know how these disputes are won and lost — and we prepare accordingly from the first day of engagement.

Remedies Available in Trade Secret Cases

Depending on the nature and scope of the misappropriation, available remedies may include:

• Injunctive relief — Emergency and permanent court orders preventing further use or disclosure of stolen information
• Compensatory damages — Recovery of lost profits, lost business opportunities, and other financial harm caused by the misappropriation
• Unjust enrichment — Recovery of the economic benefit the wrongdoer gained from using your trade secrets
• Exemplary damages — Up to double damages under the Defend Trade Secrets Act for willful and malicious misappropriation
• Attorney’s fees — Available in cases of willful misappropriation or bad-faith claims
• Seizure orders — In extraordinary circumstances, courts may order the seizure of materials containing stolen trade secrets before the defendant is notified