Password Protected Online Customer Lists Not Trade Secrets

"In the case of Liebert Corp. v. Mazur, the Illinois Court of Appeals has held that customer lists stored online in password protected directories were not entitled to trade secret protection where employer did not adequately make employees aware of the lists' confidential nature...

The court held that '[r]estricting access to sensitive information by assigning employees passwords on a need-to-know basis is a step in the right direction.' This precaution in and of itself, however was not enough. The court was 'troubled by the failure to either require employees to sign confidentiality agreements, advise employees that its records were confidential, or label the information as confidential.' "

Read more and find a link to the holding in this post from InternetCases.com.