Extract to table

1 of the Employment Agreement, as executed on September 5, 2017, and as amended on August 1, 2020, provides that for a period of eighteen (18) months following the termination of Aldrich's employment with AMA, Aldrich shall not directly or indirectly render services to, or become employed by, any "Competing Enterprise

Under CUTSA, a plaintiff must demonstrate that (i) the information at issue constitutes a "trade secret" within the meaning of Civil Code Section 3426

The reason is straightforward: under CUTSA, one of the essential elements that AMA must prove is that it took "efforts that are reasonable under the circumstances to maintain [the] secrecy" of its trade secrets

The critical distinction that AMA must emphasize is the difference between enforcement and evidentiary use

AMA must be permitted to reference and respond to the very provision that Aldrich has affirmatively challenged