§ 1.5.11.2 A TRADE SECRET MUST BE TRULY SECRET.

• Jurisdiction: Arizona

§ 1.5.11.2 A Trade Secret Must Be Truly Secret. The "hallmark" of a trade secret is secrecy.²⁰⁷ The AUTSA's two-part inquiry to determine whether a trade secret exists includes: (1) whether the subject matter of the information is secret, and (2) whether reasonable efforts have been taken to keep the information secret.²⁰⁸ When an employer alleged that its former employee misappropriated trade secrets by taking a customer list, the court of appeals outlined several situations where a customer list may be considered a trade secret, but ultimately determined that a customer list is not necessarily an employer's trade secret.²⁰⁹ Even though the employee took client lists that contained confidential client information about clients that were not only his clients, the court held that the employee did not misappropriate a trade secret because the employer failed to demonstrate that the lists were a trade secret.²¹⁰ The employer failed to show that "it had made substantial efforts to develop its customers and their personal information . . . and this information would be difficult for a competitor to duplicate or acquire."²¹¹ Because the company failed to explain "what unique and original information it had acquired in the course of its business, or show it had invested substantial time and effort to acquire information unknown to its competitors, it failed to meet its burden of...