Construction companies and trade secrets

From the San Jose Business Journal Construction rivals' trade secrets dispute ordered to trial.

"Two Silicon Valley construction companies are headed back to court after an appellate ruling that reinstated a lawsuit over information an employee took with him when switching jobs."

The lawsuit alleges that San Jose Construction's employee, Richard Foust, left the company in March 2004 to work for competitor South Bay, taking with him proprietary information about five soon-to-be-started projects. South Bay then successfully bid on the five projects.

I bet most people think a welding company has no trade secrets. Consider Lincoln Electric Holdings sues for infringement of trade secrets from Penton's Welding Magazine:

Lincoln Electric Holdings Inc. (www.lincolnelectric.com)
is suing a former employee for allegedly stealing the company’s trade secrets then trying to use them to help a Chinese competitor enter the U.S. market. In a suit filed Oct. 15 in the U.S. District Court (www. www.ohnd.uscourts.gov) in Cleveland, Lincoln Electric Holdings said that a former marketing and sales employee, Roy M. Short, attempted to help Ningbo Longxing Group Co. of China to enter the U.S. market for welding products, and violated a non-compete agreement he had with Lincoln Electric. The suit says Short worked for Lincoln Electric for five years, ending in 2006, and agreed that he would not go into a business that competes with Lincoln nor solicit its employees for two years after his last day of employment. It also said that, as a representative for Lincoln’s business and supply contracts, he agreed to keep the company’s trade secrets and proprietary information confidential. Lincoln Electric alleges in its complaint that Short violated that agreement by working for CDL International Sales Inc., a unit of Ningbo Longxing that is based in Hendersonville, Tenn. The complaint says that Short planned to attend trade shows for CDL International, and used information that belongs to Lincoln Electric to contact potential customers and employees....

Yes, trade secrets apply to all kinds of businesses. The key lies in the secrets needed to make the business successful rather than the type or size of the business.

If you want to see more of my articles on trade secrets, click on the link that reads "label Trade Secrets".

Of course, feel free to contact me if you are an Indiana business concerned about your trade secrets.