In California, a party has three years to bring a theft of a trade secret claim. The three year period starts when the misappropriation is discovered or if the exercise of reasonable diligence should have been discovered. Although fears and suspicions of misappropriation do not trigger the limitation period, a party's failure to timely investigate those beliefs may bar him or her from bringing an otherwise valid claim. Thus, if the defendant can point to facts or circumstances that would have caused a reasonable person to investigate suspicions of misappropriation — even if the actual plaintiff did not — the plaintiff will be deemed to have acquired information available from that investigation and thereby have constructive notice of the misappropriation.
Moreover, in situations where the defendant continues to misappropriate the trade secrets, the limitation period does not continuously accrue. As the Court in Cadence Design System Inc. v. Avant! Corp (2002) 29 Cal.4th 215stated, "a claim for misappropriation of a trade secret against a defendant arises only once, when the trade secret is initially misappropriated, and each subsequent use or disclosure of the secret augments the initial claim rather than arises as a separate claim." Thus, once the misappropriation has occurred, the limitation period is triggered.
The three year statute of limitations, however, may be tolled under certain circumstances. For instances, the limitation period is tolled against a California resident defendant who is temporarily out of state as well as a nonresident defendant who has not entered the state. The tolling provision does not apply to California residents who have moved out of state.
If you are involved in a dispute concerning misappropriation of trade secrets, it is vital to have the experienced business litigation attorneys of Fisher & Talwar on your side. Available remedies for trade secret misappropriation include: injunction, exemplary damages, attorney fees and costs, compensatory damages and payment of royalties. Attorneys at Fisher & Talwar are skilled in litigating misappropriation of trade secret claims.
Contact Our Firm's California Misappropriation of Trade Secret Attorneys
Contact our Los Angeles trade secret attorneys online or call 213-891-0777 to schedule a free initial consultation. We are available to meet with you between 8:30 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Evening and weekend consultations are available by appointment.
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Fisher & Talwar
Professional Law Corporation
801 S. Grand Avenue, 11th Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90017-4613
Telephone: (213) 891-0777
Fax: (213) 891-0775
