Lost profits and unjust-enrichment damages for the misappropriation of trade secrets

Franzoni, Luigi Alberto and Kaushik, Arun Kumar (2024) Lost profits and unjust-enrichment damages for the misappropriation of trade secrets. The Journal of Legal Studies, 53 (1). pp. 237-265. ISSN 0047-2530 (In Press)

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Abstract

This paper analyzes civil remedies for the misappropriation of trade secrets. We study the impact of different damages doctrines on firms’ competitive behavior and on the incentives to misappropriate. We find that the owner of a trade secret is better off under the lost-profits regime, while the rival (independently of whether he obtained the technology by misappropriation or by independent development) is better off under the unjust-enrichment regime. The unjust-enrichment regime provides fewer incentives to misappropriate and yields a smaller market deadweight loss. The choice between the two rules essentially depends on the lawmaker’s goal.

Item Type: Article
Keywords: Civil remedies | Trade Secrets | Doctrines on firms
Subjects: Social Sciences and humanities > Economics, Econometrics and Finance > Econometrics
Social Sciences and humanities > Economics, Econometrics and Finance > Economics
Social Sciences and humanities > Social Sciences > Social Sciences (General)
JGU School/Centre: Jindal School of Liberal Arts & Humanities
Depositing User: Subhajit Bhattacharjee
Date Deposited: 03 Apr 2024 10:41
Last Modified: 03 Apr 2024 10:41
Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1086/724283
URI: https://pure.jgu.edu.in/id/eprint/7566

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