Peggy Lawton Kitchens, Inc. v. Hogan - 18 Mass. App. Ct. 937, 466 N.E.2d 138 (1984)

Rule:

Once information qualifies as a trade secret, determination of whether the trade secret has been misused steers the inquiry to examining the conduct of the defendant, and the legal character of that conduct, in turn, is much affected by the steps taken by the proprietor of the trade secret to protect it.

Facts:

A maintenance worker acquired his employer's trade secret cookie recipe without the employer's knowledge or consent. The employee subsequently left the employ of the cookie manufacturer and went into business for himself. In his new business, the former employee utilized the recipe. The former employer was successful in an action to enjoin the use of the recipe and the former employee and his company appealed.

Issue:

1. Did the employer possess a protected trade secret? 
2. Was it proper to enjoin the former employee and his company from using the cookie recipe? 

Answer:

1) Yes. 2) Yes.

Conclusion:

The court held that the recipe was unique and the former employer had used adequate safeguards to protect the recipe to qualify the recipe as a trade secret. The court found that the former employee used pretext to gain access to the recipe. The court held that listing a unique ingredient on the cookie's label did not constitute publication of the recipe. The court also found that a permanent injunction without limit as to area was appropriate because it did not restrict the manufacture of other cookies, packaging, or marketing methods. Finally, the court held that use of Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 93A, § 11 was appropriate because the new company bore no employer-employee relation to the former employer, and the former employee was no longer an employee when he used the trade secret.