The UTSA provides for both injunctive relief and relief in the form of money damages. Money damages are provided for as follows:

a) Except to the extent that a material and prejudicial change of position prior to acquiring knowledge or reason to know of misappropriation renders a monetary recovery inequitable, a complainant is entitled to recover damages for misappropriation. Damages can include both the actual loss caused by misappropriation and the unjust enrichment caused by misappropriation that is not taken into account in computing actual loss. In lieu of damages measured by any other methods, the damages caused by misappropriation may be measured by imposition of liability for a reasonable royalty for a misappropriator's unauthorized disclosure or use of a trade secret.

(b) If willful and malicious misappropriation exists, the court may award exemplary damages in an amount not exceeding twice any award made under subsection (a).

As illustrated above, the money damages available are potentially significant, including exemplary damages. The threat of an adverse judgment may be sufficient to persuade a would be infringer from engaging in inappropriate conduct, if such a warning is issued in a timely manner. In addition, a business person may seek injunctive relief, provided for as follows:

(a) Actual or threatened misappropriation may be enjoined. Upon application to the court, an injunction shall be terminated when the trade secret has ceased to exist, but the injunction may be continued for an additional reasonable period of time in order to eliminate commercial advantage that otherwise would be derived from the misappropriation.

(b) In exceptional circumstances, an injunction may condition future use upon payment of a reasonable royalty for no longer than the period of time for which use could have been prohibited. Exceptional circumstances include, but are not limited to, a material and prejudicial change of position prior to acquiring knowledge or reason to know of misappropriation that renders a prohibitive injunction inequitable.

(c) In appropriate circumstances, affirmative acts to protect a trade secret may be compelled by court order.

Finally, under certain conditions attorney fees may also be available under the Act. The fact that relief is available, in the manner prescribed by the Act, is obviously a good thing. However, relief requires litigation and as mentioned often in these tutorials, litigation is expensive and time consuming. The latter may in fact be more insidious. The passage of time could be the greater evil. It is imperative that the necessary precautionary steps be taken to protect the business, and equally important that a timely action be filed upon notification of actual or potential wrongdoing.