This Note argues that some courts might increase their use of the inevitable disclosure doctrine if the FTC rule banning noncompetes survives legal challenge. The Note begins from the premise that the reason many courts reject the inevitable disclosure doctrine is that if the employer wanted to protect itself against the competition of former employees, it should have done so by contract. Many courts do not want to write a noncompete for the employer after-the-fact by saying that trade secrets will inevitably be disclosed. However, if an FTC ban on noncompetes means that employers are no longer given the option of using noncompetes to protect themselves, courts may become more sympathetic to the inevitable disclosure doctrine. Evidence of how the inevitable disclosure doctrine harms employee mobility and fails to provide notice to employees that they will be subject to judicially imposed noncompetes suggests that noncompetes may be a lesser evil than what courts may use in their absence.
To read this Note, please click here: How the FTC Ban On Noncompetes Will Impact Use of the Inevitable Disclosure Doctrine.
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