Cadence Design Systems v. Avant! Corporation

Opinion

MORENO, J.

We granted the request for certification of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit pursuant to California Rules of Court, rule 29.5, to address the following question:

Under the California Uniform Trade Secrets Act (UTSA), Civil Code section 3426, 1 when does a claim for trade secret infringement arise: only once, when the initial misappropriation occurs, or with each subsequent misuse of the trade secret?

We conclude that in a plaintiffs action against the same defendant, the continued improper use or disclosure of a trade secret after defendant’s initial…