There have been few if any reported cases until now involving the recently-enacted Puerto Rico Law of Commercial and Trade Secrets. It is not difficult to discern that controversy is likely to arise at the intersection between non-competition agreements (especially in their absence) and confidentiality obligations created by the new trade secrets law.
As shown by American Paper Corporation v. Irizarry, 2013 WL 5522747 (TCA Aug. 9, 2013), confidentiality and non-competition agreements have ramifications in distribution cases. There, an employee of plaintiff American Paper, a Puerto Rico distributor of paper products, defected to form his own company to compete for the same business. Not thrilled by the prospect that the defendant–employee would make a living and form a company to compete, plaintiff sued the employee under Puerto Rico’s trade secret law and sought enforcement of a non-compete agreement.
The employer alleged that one of its most important customers transferred business to the employee’s new company. The trial court issued an order compelling defendant not to use or divulge plaintiff’s “trade secrets” which include contact persons of plaintiff’s clients, profit margins, and marketing strategies. As far as reaching out to bar defendant from using his knowledge or information to compete with the clientele, the trial court invalidated the non-competition agreement as a matter of Puerto Rico law.
Only plaintiff appealed the order invalidating the non-competition agreement. In granting certiorari and affirming the judgment below, the appellate court held that the non-compete obligation was overbroad for it was not restricted to commercial activities similar to his employer and was excessive in terms of the clients that could not be served. “Said another way, Mr. Irizarry could not make any type of solicitation or offering of service directly or indirectly to no one, that has been a client of the employer or is engaged in the paper distribution business.” (translation ours). Because the non-compete clause is legally incapable of being reformed by the court, the entire agreement was declared to be null and void.
The trial court’s injunction under Puerto Rico’s Trade Secrets Law and the appellate court's invalidation of the non-compete agreement can be reconciled. This case demonstrates that a non-compete agreement is severable from an obligation imposed by law or required by contract to preserve the confidentiality of trade secrets. A prohibition from using or divulging confidential information or trade secrets does not necessarily extend in scope to prohibit the employee from using his knowledge, information, or business acumen to compete or solicit business from his employer’s customers at least when there is no non-competition agreement or it is determined to be invalid.
