(A) Except as provided in subsections (B) and (C), this chapter displaces conflicting tort, restitutionary, and other law of this State providing civil remedies for misappropriation of a trade secret.

(B) This chapter does not affect:

Terms Used In South Carolina Code 39-8-110

  • Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Misappropriation: means :

    (a) acquisition of a trade secret of another by a person by improper means;

    (b) acquisition of a trade secret of another by a person who knows or has reason to know that the trade secret was acquired by improper means; or

    (c) disclosure or use of a trade secret of another without express or implied consent by a person who:

    (i) used improper means to acquire knowledge of the trade secret; or

    (ii) at the time of disclosure or use, knew or had reason to know that his knowledge of the trade secret was:

    (A) derived from or through a person who had utilized improper means to acquire it;

    (B) acquired by mistake or under circumstances giving rise to a duty to maintain its secrecy or limit its use; or

    (C) derived from or through a person who owed a duty to the person seeking relief to maintain its secrecy or limit its use; or

    (iii) before a material change of his position, knew or had reason to know that it was a trade secret and that knowledge of it had been acquired by accident or mistake. See South Carolina Code 39-8-20
  • Tort: A civil wrong or breach of a duty to another person, as outlined by law. A very common tort is negligent operation of a motor vehicle that results in property damage and personal injury in an automobile accident.
  • Trade secret: means :

    (a) information including, but not limited to, a formula, pattern, compilation, program, device, method, technique, product, system, or process, design, prototype, procedure, or code that:

    (i) derives independent economic value, actual or potential, from not being generally known to, and not being readily ascertainable by proper means by the public or any other person who can obtain economic value from its disclosure or use, and

    (ii) is the subject of efforts that are reasonable under the circumstances to maintain its secrecy. See South Carolina Code 39-8-20

(1) contractual remedies, whether or not based upon misappropriation of a trade secret or protection of a trade secret;

(2) the provisions of the South Carolina Tort Claims Act.

(C) Any and all other civil remedies that are not based upon misappropriation of a trade secret or upon protection against misappropriation of a trade secret are governed by the rules of procedure, rules of evidence, regulations, and the common law applicable to the administrative law tribunal or court where the action is filed.

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