AvidAir Helicopter Supply, Inc. v. Rolls-Royce Corp.

In AvidAir Helicopter Supply Inc. v. Rolls-Royce Corp., the Eighth Circuit interpreted the state’s implementation of the Uniform Trade Secrets Act, holding that compilations including both proprietary and public information may be entitled to trade secret protection where time and money were expended in their preparation and reasonable efforts were taken to maintain their secrecy.

The case involved engine repair procedures developed by Rolls-Royce, the manufacturer of said engines. Rolls-Royce documented its federally-approved methods, techniques, and specifications in Distributor Overhaul Information Letters (“DOILs”), which it exclusively distributed to selected authorized maintenance centers (“AMCs”). DOILs were periodically updated to keep pace with federal certification requirements. Although Rolls-Royce’s predecessor did not restrict access to DOILs, upon acquisition of the company in 1995, Rolls-Royce made efforts to establish proprietary control over the documents, stamping each subsequent revision with a proprietary legend and enforcing previously-executed nondisclosure agreements. The Eighth Circuit affirmed the trial court, holding that, based on value and efforts to maintain secrecy, revisions issued after Rolls-Royce’s takeover and implementation of precautionary measures were protectable as trade secrets. In response to AvidAir’s argument that the minimal amount of new information in the updated DOILs was insufficient to sustain a trade secret claim, the Court stated,

“Compilations are valuable, not because of the quantum of secret information, but because the expenditure of time, effort, and expense involved in its compilation gives a business a competitive advantage.”

AvidAir’s petition for certiorari was denied on October 1, 2012.

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