2-1 INTRODUCTION

• Jurisdiction: United States

2-1 Introduction

Applying Texas law, the Fifth Circuit has declared that "[a] trade secret is one of the most elusive and difficult concepts in the law to define."¹ This task is further complicated by the fact that, as mentioned before, Texas trade secret law is currently in a period of transition. Although TUTSA revised the legal framework for defining trade secrets, Texas courts still look to pre-TUTSA case law to interpret this new statute. This chapter explores the first, and perhaps most important, step in any trade secret lawsuit: figuring out whether the plaintiffs' allegedly misappropriated information is, in fact, a trade secret. This chapter also discusses another essential initial...