Finding that a competitor or former employee stole a trade secret is important in any business dispute. Such a finding can result in punitive damages and payment of attorney fees. Many times success depends on showing that the information is valuable (meaning costly to develop) and that there were reasonable efforts to keep the information secret.

   Mr. Kerkman has litigated trade secret issues many times in different courts, applying different state laws. Those cases involved customer lists, the internal workings of web sites and processes which have not been patented. Trade secret issues often are raised in conjunction with noncompete covenants and other business disputes.