Inevitable-Misappropriation Doctrine Law and Legal Definition
Inevitable-Misappropriation Doctrine is a legal principle based on the concept that an employee once hired by a competitor, cannot avoid misappropriating the former employer's trade secrets. In such situations, former employer can get an injunction restraining the employee from taking that job or preventing the new employer from hiring the employee, provided former employer should prove that the former employee has confidential information and will not be able to avoid using that knowledge to unfairly compete against the former employer. However this doctrine has been rejected by most courts. Leading case on the doctrine is PepsiCo, Inc. v. Redmond, 54 F.3d 1262 (7th Cir. Ill. 1995), where the court held a plaintiff may prove a claim of trade secret misappropriation by demonstrating that defendant's new employment will inevitably lead him to rely on the plaintiff's trade secrets. The mere fact that a person assumed a similar position at a competitor does not, without more, make it inevitable that he will use or disclose trade secret information so as to demonstrate irreparable injury.
Inevitable-Misappropriation Doctrine is also known as inevitable-disclosure doctrine or inevitability doctrine.
