MrThickRopes
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LSDefine
Simple English definitions for legal terms
inevitability doctrine
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A quick definition of inevitability doctrine:
The inevitability doctrine is a legal theory that says if a key employee leaves their job and goes to work for a competitor, they will inevitably use their former employer's trade secrets. This means that the former employer can ask for an injunction to stop the employee from using those secrets to unfairly compete against them. However, most courts have rejected this doctrine because it turns a nondisclosure agreement into a noncompetition agreement. The leading case that supports this doctrine is PepsiCo, Inc. v. Redmond, where the court compared the situation to a coach whose player left with the playbook to join the opposing team before a big game.
A more thorough explanation:
The inevitability doctrine is a legal theory that applies to trade secrets. It suggests that a former employee who has access to confidential information of their previous employer cannot avoid using that knowledge to unfairly compete against the former employer once they are hired by a competitor.
For instance, if an employee of a company that produces a unique product leaves and joins a competitor, they may use the knowledge they gained from their previous employer to create a similar product. This could result in the former employer losing their competitive edge.
The plaintiff must prove that the former employee has confidential information and will not be able to avoid using that knowledge to unfairly compete against the plaintiff. However, most courts have rejected this doctrine because it turns a nondisclosure agreement into a noncompetition agreement.
One of the leading cases that upheld the inevitability doctrine is PepsiCo, Inc. v. Redmond, 54 F.3d 1262 (7th Cir. 1995). In this case, the court compared PepsiCo to a coach whose player left with the playbook to join the opposing team before the big game.