[Rev. 11/21/2013 12:32:17
PM--2013]
CHAPTER 600A - TRADE SECRETS (UNIFORM ACT)
NRS 600A.010 Short
title.
NRS 600A.030 Definitions.
NRS 600A.032 Presumption
of reasonable effort by owner to maintain secrecy; rebuttal of presumption.
NRS 600A.035 Theft
of trade secrets prohibited; criminal penalties.
NRS 600A.040 Actual
or threatened misappropriation: Injunctive relief.
NRS 600A.050 Misappropriation:
Damages.
NRS 600A.055 Misappropriation
and posting or dissemination on Internet: Effect.
NRS 600A.060 Attorney’s
fees.
NRS 600A.070 Preservation
of secrecy.
NRS 600A.080 Limitation
of actions.
NRS 600A.090 Effect
of chapter on other law and remedies.
NRS 600A.100 Inapplicability
of chapter to acts which occurred before, or began before and continue after,
July 1, 1987.
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NRS 600A.010 Short title. This
chapter may be cited as the Uniform Trade Secrets Act.
(Added to NRS by 1987, 19)
NRS 600A.030 Definitions. As
used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:
1. “Improper means” includes, without
limitation:
(a) Theft;
(b) Bribery;
(c) Misrepresentation;
(d) Willful breach or willful inducement of a
breach of a duty to maintain secrecy;
(e) Willful breach or willful inducement of a
breach of a duty imposed by common law, statute, contract, license, protective
order or other court or administrative order; and
(f) Espionage through electronic or other means.
2. “Misappropriation” means:
(a) Acquisition of the trade secret of another by
a person by improper means;
(b) 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
(c) Disclosure or use of a trade secret of
another without express or implied consent by a person who:
(1) Used improper means to acquire
knowledge of the trade secret;
(2) At the time of disclosure or use, knew
or had reason to know that his or her knowledge of the trade secret was:
(I) Derived from or through a person
who had used improper means to acquire it;
(II) Acquired under circumstances
giving rise to a duty to maintain its secrecy or limit its use; or
(III) Derived from or through a
person who owed a duty to the person seeking relief to maintain its secrecy or
limit its use; or
(3) Before a material change of his or her
position, knew or had reason to know that it was a trade secret and that
knowledge of it had been acquired by accident or mistake.
3. “Owner” means the person who holds
legal or equitable title to a trade secret.
4. “Person” means a natural person,
corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, association, joint
venture, government, governmental subdivision or agency, or any other legal or
commercial entity.
5. “Trade secret” means information, including,
without limitation, a formula, pattern, compilation, program, device, method,
technique, product, system, process, design, prototype, procedure, computer
programming instruction or code that:
(a) Derives independent economic value, actual or
potential, from not being generally known to, and not being readily
ascertainable by proper means by the public or any other persons who can obtain
commercial or economic value from its disclosure or use; and
(b) Is the subject of efforts that are reasonable
under the circumstances to maintain its secrecy.
(Added to NRS by 1987, 20; A 1993, 2802; 1999, 2101)
NRS 600A.032 Presumption of reasonable effort by owner to maintain secrecy;
rebuttal of presumption. The owner
of a trade secret is presumed to make a reasonable effort to maintain its
secrecy if the word “Confidential” or “Private” or another indication of
secrecy is placed in a reasonably noticeable manner on any medium or container
that describes or includes any portion of the trade secret. This presumption
may be rebutted only by clear and convincing evidence that the owner did not
take reasonable efforts to maintain the secrecy of the trade secret.
(Added to NRS by 2001, 942)
NRS 600A.035 Theft of trade secrets prohibited; criminal penalties. A person who, with intent to injure an owner
of a trade secret or with reason to believe that his or her actions will injure
an owner of a trade secret, without limitation:
1. Steals, misappropriates, takes or
conceals a trade secret or obtains a trade secret through fraud, artifice or
deception;
2. Wrongfully copies, duplicates,
sketches, draws, photographs, alters, destroys, photocopies, replicates,
transmits, delivers, sends, mails, communicates or conveys a trade secret;
3. Receives, buys or possesses a trade
secret with knowledge or reason to know that the trade secret was obtained as
described in subsection 1 or 2;
4. Attempts to commit an offense described
in subsection 1, 2 or 3;
5. Solicits another person to commit an
offense described in subsection 1, 2 or 3; or
6. Conspires to commit an offense
described in subsection 1, 2 or 3, and one of the conspirators performs an act
to further the conspiracy,
Ê is guilty of
a category C felony and shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison
for a minimum term of not less than 1 year and a maximum term of not more than
10 years and may be further punished by a fine of not more than $10,000.
(Added to NRS by 1999, 2100)
NRS 600A.040 Actual or threatened misappropriation: Injunctive relief.
1. Actual or threatened misappropriation
may be enjoined. Upon application to the court, an injunction must be
terminated when the trade secret has ceased to exist, but the injunction may be
continued for an additional reasonable period of time to eliminate commercial
or other 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 include a material and prejudicial change of position
before acquiring knowledge or reason to know of misappropriation that renders a
prohibitive injunction inequitable.
3. In appropriate circumstances, the court
may order affirmative acts to protect a trade secret. As used in this
subsection, “affirmative acts” includes, without limitation, issuing an
injunction or order requiring that a trade secret which has been misappropriated
and posted, displayed or otherwise disseminated on the Internet be removed from
the Internet immediately.
(Added to NRS by 1987, 20; A 1999, 2102; 2001, 406)
NRS 600A.050 Misappropriation: Damages.
1. Except to the extent that a material
and prejudicial change of position before acquiring knowledge or reason to know
of misappropriation renders a monetary recovery inequitable, a complainant is
entitled to recover damages for misappropriation. Damages include both loss
caused by misappropriation and unjust enrichment caused by misappropriation
that is not taken into account in computing the loss. In lieu of damages
measured by any other methods, 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.
2. If willful, wanton or reckless
misappropriation or disregard of the rights of the owner of the trade secret
exists, the court may award exemplary damages in an amount not exceeding twice
the award made under subsection 1.
(Added to NRS by 1987, 20; A 1999, 2102)
NRS 600A.055 Misappropriation and posting or dissemination on Internet:
Effect. A trade secret that is
misappropriated and posted, displayed or otherwise disseminated on the Internet
shall be deemed to remain a trade secret as defined in NRS
600A.030 and not to have “ceased to exist” for the purposes of subsection 1
of NRS 600A.040 if:
1. The owner, within a reasonable time after
discovering that the trade secret has been misappropriated and posted,
displayed or otherwise disseminated on the Internet, obtains an injunction or
order issued by a court requiring that the trade secret be removed from the
Internet; and
2. The trade secret is removed from the
Internet within a reasonable time after the injunction or order requiring
removal of the trade secret is issued by the court.
(Added to NRS by 2001, 406)
NRS 600A.060 Attorney’s fees. If:
1. A claim of misappropriation is made in
bad faith;
2. A motion to terminate an injunction is
made or resisted in bad faith; or
3. Willful and malicious misappropriation
exists,
Ê the court
may award reasonable attorney’s fees to the prevailing party.
(Added to NRS by 1987, 21)
NRS 600A.070 Preservation of secrecy. In
any civil or criminal action, the court shall preserve the secrecy of an
alleged trade secret by reasonable means, which may include, without
limitation:
1. Granting protective orders in
connection with discovery proceedings;
2. Holding hearings in camera;
3. Sealing the records of the action;
4. Determining the need for any
information related to the trade secret before allowing discovery;
5. Allowing the owner of the trade secret
to obtain a signed agreement of confidentiality from any party who obtains
knowledge of the trade secret;
6. Ordering a person who obtains knowledge
of the trade secret to return to the owner of the trade secret any writing
which reflects or contains the trade secret; and
7. Ordering any person involved in the
litigation not to disclose an alleged trade secret without previous court
approval.
(Added to NRS by 1987, 21; A 1999, 2102)
NRS 600A.080 Limitation of actions. An
action for misappropriation must be brought within 3 years after the
misappropriation is discovered or by the exercise of reasonable diligence
should have been discovered. For the purposes of this section, a continuing
misappropriation constitutes a single claim.
(Added to NRS by 1987, 21)
NRS 600A.090 Effect of chapter on other law and remedies.
1. Except as otherwise provided in
subsection 2, this chapter displaces conflicting tort, restitutionary, and
other law of this state providing civil remedies for misappropriation of a
trade secret.
2. This chapter does not affect:
(a) Contractual remedies, whether or not based
upon misappropriation of a trade secret;
(b) Other civil remedies that are not based upon
misappropriation of a trade secret; or
(c) Except as otherwise provided in NRS 600A.035, criminal sanctions, whether or not
based upon misappropriation of a trade secret.
(Added to NRS by 1987, 21; A 1999, 2103)
NRS 600A.100 Inapplicability of chapter to acts which occurred before, or
began before and continue after, July 1, 1987. This
chapter does not apply to a misappropriation that occurred before July 1, 1987,
or to a misappropriation that began before and continues after July 1, 1987.
(Added to NRS by 1987, 21)
