§ 2019.210.Misappropriation of trade secrets

Trade secret cases create an obvious risk: a party could use discovery itself as a fishing expedition to find out what the secret supposedly is, or to probe a competitor's confidential information under cover of litigation. This section heads that off. Before a party alleging misappropriation under the Uniform Trade Secrets Act can start discovery relating to the trade secret, that party first has to identify the trade secret with reasonable particularity.

The requirement isn't a one-time formality that disappears once filed; it's paired with the court's authority to enter protective orders under Civil Code Section 3426.5, so the identification and any resulting discovery both proceed under whatever confidentiality safeguards the case calls for. Pinning down the trade secret first gives the defense a fixed target to respond to and keeps discovery focused on what was alleged to have been misappropriated, rather than a moving description that expands as the case unfolds.