Historically, trade secret issues in Texas were a matter of common law. As previously discussed on this blog, the Texas legislature finally considered adopting the Uniform Trade Secrets Act this year. The proposed Act is quoted in the prior blog article.

The legislature passed the Act, and the governor signed it into law on May 2, 2013. The Act is effective on September 1, 2013, and is part of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code. The legislation states:

The change in law made by this Act applies to the misappropriation of a trade secret made on or after the effective date of this Act. A misappropriation of a trade secret made before and a continuing misappropriation beginning before the effective date of this Act are governed by the law in effect immediately before the effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in effect for that purpose.

Time will tell whether the Act makes any significant change in the law, but Texas is no longer one of the handful of states that have not adopted the Act.

David C. Holmes is a Houston employment lawyer with The Law Offices of David C. Holmes