Document Type
Article
Publication Date
10-2009
OCLC FAST subject heading
Intellectual property
Abstract
This Article breaks new ground by applying sociological analysis to trade secret law. It uses a group which constitutes the largest segment of the workforce, namely, those labeled Generation X and Generation Y (collectively referred to and coined in the Article as "New Generation Employees") as a case study for analyzing how values and social norms influence compliance with trade secret laws.
By drawing on the sociological literature, the Article is the first to apply theories about employee theft to trade secret misappropriation. It integrates the values of New Generation Employees with principles of equity theory, work climate theory, and societal change theory in a framework that (a) offers some insights into what motivates employees to misappropriate trade secrets and (b) offers corresponding general preventive measures to protect trade secrets in the workplace. It also explores how New Generation Employees' values and norms could test existing legal doctrine related to trade secret misappropriation, ownership, and liability.
Finally, the Article considers the broader usefulness of using this kind of sociological analysis beyond the workplace and beyond trade secret law. For example, changes in attitude about intellectual property in general might have implications for protection, compliance, and enforcement norms in the United States. Moreover, the approach may also be of benefit in addressing the frustrations United States companies experience in dealing with the foreign enforcement of their intellectual property rights in developing countries.
Recommended Citation
Elizabeth A. Rowe, A Sociological Approach to Misappropriation, 58 U. Kan. L. Rev. 1 (2009).