How Are Damages Measured Under the Minnesota Uniform Trade Secrets Act?
Under the Minnesota Uniform Trade Secrets Act, except to the extent that a material and prejudicial change of position prior to acquiring knowledge or reason to know of misappropriation renders a monetary recovery inequitable, a complainant is entitled to recover damages for misappropriation. Minn. Stat. 325C.03. Damages can include both the actual loss caused by misappropriation and the unjust enrichment caused by misappropriation that is not taken into account in computing actual loss. The Act provides that, in lieu of damages measured by any other methods, the damages caused by misappropriation may be measured by imposition of liability for a reasonable royalty for a misappropriator’s unauthorized disclosure or use of a trade secret. If willful and malicious misappropriation exists, the court may award exemplary damages in an amount not exceeding twice any award of damages described above.
