The Biggest Trade Secrets Awards in the Last 5 Years

The article examines the surge in high-value trade secrets litigation following the Defend Trade Secrets Act, highlighting several of the largest trade secret verdicts since 2019 and noting that many headline-grabbing awards have been substantially reduced on appeal or through post-trial motions.

Ching-Lee explains that despite some large trade secret awards being reduced, trade secrets law remains relatively less developed than patent law, giving litigants and advocates greater flexibility in shaping damages theories and legal arguments; she stated: “While we are seeing some large awards getting cut down, I think the general impression is that [trade secrets] law doesn't have the decades of history that patent law does, so there is more flexibility for good lawyering.”