North Carolina § 66-152 - Definitions.

§ 66-152. Definitions.

As used in this Article, unless the context requires otherwise: "Misappropriation" means acquisition, disclosure, or use of a trade secret of another without express or implied authority or consent, unless such trade secret was arrived at by independent development, reverse engineering, or was obtained from another person with a right to disclose the trade secret. "Person" means an individual, corporation, government, governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, association, joint venture, or any other legal or commercial entity. "Trade secret" means business or technical information, including but not limited to a formula, pattern, program, device, compilation of information, method, technique, or process that: Derives independent actual or potential commercial value from not being generally known or readily ascertainable through independent development or reverse engineering by persons who can obtain economic value from its disclosure or use; and Is the subject of efforts that are reasonable under the circumstances to maintain its secrecy. The existence of a trade secret shall not be negated merely because the information comprising the trade secret has also been developed, used, or owned independently by more than one person, or licensed to other persons. History (1981, c. 890, s. 1.) Legal Periodicals. - For survey of 1981 commercial law, see 60 N.C.L. Rev. 1238 (1982). For article discussing the North Carolina Trade Secrets Protection Act, see 18 Wake Forest L. Rev. 823 (1982). For comment, "The Incompatibility of Copyright and Computer Software: An Economic Evaluation and a Proposal for a Market-Place Solution," see 66 N.C.L. Rev. 977 (1988). For comment, "Is the North Carolina Trade Secrets Protection Act Itself a Secret, and Is the Act Worth Protecting?," see 77 N.C.L. Rev. 2149 (1999). For note, "The Court of Appeals of North Carolina's Narrow Appraoch to Trade Secrets Protection in North Carolina Farm Partnership v. Pig Improvement Company," see 83 N.C. L. Rev. 1567 (2005). For article, "Describing Drugs: A Response to Professors Allison and Ouellette," see 65 Duke L.J. Online 127 (2016). For article, "How Courts Adjudicate Patent Definiteness and Disclosure," see 65 Duke L.J. 609 (2016). For article, "The DTSA at One: An Empirical Study of the First Year of Litigation Under the Defend Trade Secrets Act,” see 53 Wake Forest L. Rev. 105 (2018).