Non-Competition & Trade Secrets

Murray Law welcomes the opportunity to represent employees and employers disputed concerning non-competition and trade secret agreements.

Employers, employees, supervisors, managers, executives, and professionals may need to use, defend, enforce, or challenge non-competition or trade secret agreements.

Steven Murray has counseled and represented employees and employers in non-competition matters, including evaluating agreements and serving as counsel in restraining order and preliminary injunction proceedings, and a full-scale trial.

Colorado Non-Competition Law

Non-competition agreements aim to prevent or limit former employees from competing against a prior employer using knowledge acquired through previous employment.

Employers may include non-solicitation provisions in non-competition agreements.

A non-solicitation provision seeks to prohibit an employee from soliciting the former employer’s customers and employees, following the employee leaving the former employer’s workforce.

A critical factor in evaluating any non-competition agreement is the enforceability of the agreement.

For example, although an employer and employee signed the contract, the agreement is not enforceable unless the agreement satisfies the requirements of Colorado law or the state which controls the interpretation of the agreement.

Colorado law prohibits non-compete agreements; however, the exceptions to the law provide avenues for enforceable non-competition agreements.

Colorado law provides:

Any covenant not to compete which restricts the right of any person to receive compensation for the performance of skilled or unskilled labor for any employer shall be void, but this provision shall not apply to:

• (1) Any contract for the purchase and sale of a business or the assets of a business.
• (2) Any contract for the protection of trade secrets.
• (3) Any contractual provision providing for the recovery of the expense of education and training an employee who has served an employer for less than two years.
• (4) Executive and managerial personnel and officers and employees who constitute professional staff to executive and management personnel. C.R.S. Section 8-2-113(a)-(d).

Federal & Colorado Trade Secrets Law

The DTSA, a federal law, creates a new claim for the misappropriation of trade secrets. The DTSA explicitly provides that it does not preempt state law.

The Colorado Uniform Trade Secrets Act addresses trade secrets and misappropriation.

The holder of the trade secret may sue the person or entity misappropriating a protected trade secret.

Conclusion

Murray Law welcomes the opportunity to counsel and represent employees and employers in matters involving the professional and business rights at issue in non-competition and trade secret agreements. Please call Steven Murray at 720-600-6642.