Nebraska
State Statutes (as
of 6/09/08)
Trade
Secrets Act
Contact: Nebraska Attorney General
(402)
471-2811
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Section
87-501
Act, how cited.
Sections
87-501 to 87-507 shall be known and may be cited as the Trade Secrets
Act.
Source:
Laws
1988, LB 337A, ? 1
Section
87-502
Terms, defined.
As
used in
the Trade Secrets Act, unless the context otherwise requires:
(1)
Improper means shall mean theft, bribery, misrepresentation, breach or
inducement of a breach of a duty to maintain secrecy, or espionage
through
electronic or other means;
(2)
Misappropriation shall mean:
(a)
Acquisition of a trade secret of another by a person who knows or has
reason to
know that the trade secret was acquired by improper means; or
(b)
Disclosure or use of a trade secret of another without express or
implied
consent by a person who:
(i) Used improper means to
acquire knowledge of the trade
secret;
(ii)
At
the time of the disclosure or use, knew or had reason to know that his
or her
knowledge of the trade secret was:
(A)
Derived from or through a person who had utilized improper means to
acquire it;
(B)
Acquired under circumstances giving rise to a duty to maintain its
secrecy or
limit its use; or
(C)
Derived from or through a person who owed a duty to the person seeking
relief
to maintain its secrecy or limit its use; or
(iii)
Before a material change of his or her position, knew or had reason to
know that
the information was a trade secret and that knowledge of it had been
acquired
by accident or mistake;
(3)
Person
shall mean a natural person, corporation, business trust, estate,
trust,
partnership, limited liability company, association, joint venture,
government,
governmental subdivision or agency, or any other legal or commercial
entity;
and
(4)
Trade
secret shall mean information, including, but not limited to, a
drawing,
formula, pattern, compilation, program, device, method, technique,
code, or process
that:
(a)
Derives independent economic value, actual or potential, from not being
known
to, and not being ascertainable by proper means by, other persons who
can
obtain economic value from its disclosure or use; and
(b)
Is the
subject of efforts that are reasonable under the circumstances to
maintain its
secrecy.
Source:
Laws
1988, LB 337A, ? 2
Laws 1993, LB 121, ? 560
Section
87-503
Misappropriation; injunction; royalty; affirmative acts.
(1)
Actual
or threatened misappropriation may be enjoined. Upon application to the
court,
an injunction shall be terminated when the trade secret has ceased to
exist,
but the injunction may be continued for an additional reasonable period
of time
in order to eliminate commercial advantage that otherwise would be
derived from
the misappropriation.
(2)
In
exceptional circumstances, an injunction may condition future use upon
payment
of a reasonable royalty for no longer than the period of time for which
use
could have been prohibited. Exceptional circumstances shall include,
but are
not limited to, a material and prejudicial change of position prior to
acquiring knowledge or having reason to know of the misappropriation
that
renders a prohibitive injunction inequitable.
(3)
In
appropriate circumstances, affirmative acts to protect a trade secret
may be
compelled by court order.
Source:
Laws
1988, LB 337A, ? 3
Section
87-504
Misappropriation; damages.
Except
to
the extent that a material and prejudicial change of position prior to
acquiring knowledge or having reason to know of the misappropriation
renders a
monetary recovery inequitable, a complainant shall be entitled to
recover
damages for misappropriation. Damages may include both the actual loss
caused
by misappropriation and the unjust enrichment caused by
misappropriation that
is not taken into account in computing actual loss. In lieu of damages
measured
by any other methods, the damages caused by misappropriation may be
measured by
imposition of liability for a reasonable royalty for a misappropriator's
unauthorized disclosure or use of a trade secret.
Source:
Laws
1988, LB 337A, ? 4
Section
87-505
Court proceedings; preserve secrecy.
In
an
action under the Trade Secrets Act, the court shall preserve the
secrecy of an
alleged trade secret by reasonable means, which may include, but not be
limited
to, granting protective orders in connection with discovery proceedings
and
ordering nondisclosure of the alleged trade secret by the parties'
attorneys,
witnesses, or experts. The disclosure or publication of a trade secret
in a
court proceeding or as a result thereof shall not constitute an
abandonment of
the secret.
Source:
Laws
1988, LB 337A, ? 5
Section
87-506
Statute of limitation.
An
action
for misappropriation shall be brought within four years after the
misappropriation is discovered or by the exercise of reasonable
diligence
should have been discovered. For purposes of this section, a continuing
misappropriation shall constitute a single claim.
Source:
Laws
1988, LB 337A, ? 6
Section
87-507
Applicability of act.
The
Trade
Secrets Act shall not apply to any misappropriation occurring prior to
July 9,
1988. With respect to a continuing misappropriation that began prior to
July 9,
1988, such act also shall not apply to the continuing misappropriation
that
occurs after such date.
Source:
Laws
1988, LB 337A, ? 7