Appendix C Restatement (First) of Torts § 757 (1939)

• Pages: 217-228

APPENDIX C

Restatement (First) of Torts

§ 757 (1939)

Restatement, Torts, copyright © 1939 by The American Law Insti-

tute. Reproduced with permission. All rights reserved.

§ 757. Liability for Disclosure or Use of Another’s

Trade Secret—General Principle

One who discloses or uses another’s trade secret, without a privi-

lege to do so, is liable to the other if

(a) he discovered the secret by improper means, or

(b) his disclosure or use constitutes a breach of confidence

reposed in him by the other in disclosing the secret to

him, or

(c) he learned the secret from a third person with notice of

the facts that it was a secret and that the third person dis-

covered it by improper means or that the third person’s

disclosure of it was otherwise a breach of his duty to the

other, or

(d) he learned the secret with notice of the facts that it was a

secret and that its disclosure was made to him by mistake.

Comment:

a. Rationale. The privilege to compete with others (see § 708, vol.

III) includes a privilege to adopt their business methods, ideas

or processes of manufacture. Were it otherwise, the first person

in the field with a new process or idea would have a monopoly

which would tend to prevent competition. This privilege has

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