Data General Corp. v. Digital Computer Controls, Inc. was a 1971 case in which the Delaware Court of Chancery determined that widespread, confidential disclosure of trade secrets does not necessarily compromise their secrecy.
The court found that Data General Corporation had sufficiently protected the secrecy of the drawings and that Digital Computer Controls was thus in violation of trade secret law for improperly using confidential information.
Such a view of disclosure had been held by previous courts in non-information technology contexts [1][2] and has become relevant to trade secrets embodied in widely distributed software commonly protected by clickwrap licenses.
Data General Corporation requested a preliminary injunction barring Digital Computer Controls from selling the D-116 based primarily on a claim of trade secret misappropriation.
[5] In 1975, Data General Corporation filed for permanent injunctive relief and damages based on Digital Computer Controls alleged misappropriation of trade secrets.
In determining whether Data General Corporation took adequate measures despite widespread distribution, the court considered several factors: 1) each drawing stated that its contents were confidential, 2) a contractual agreement applied to any order filled by Data General Corporation, 3) such contracts were requisite to sale for every customer, 4) employees and vendors signed confidentiality agreements, and 5) design documents were only available to purchasers of the Nova 1200.