Equifax and Experian Must Produce Trade Secrets, Subject to Protective Order
Trade secrets must be produced, subject to protective order, in Fair Isaac Corp. v. Equifax, Inc., 2007 WL 2791168 (D. Minn. 9/25/07).
Fair Isaac brought suit for false advertising, trade secret misappropriation and related unfair competition claims against Equifax, Experian, and other defendants. The thrust of the complaint is that defendants copied Fair Isaac's algorithms and software used to generate credit scores. In discovery, Fair Isaac sought the algorithm and software used by defendants to generate credit scores. The defendants objected to this discovery claiming the algorithms and software are trade secrets.
The court agreed the algorithms and software are trade secrets but that defendants must produce them to Fair Isaac. A protective order prevents Fair Isaac or its experts from using the information for any purposes other than the litigation. Any violation of the protective order is punishable by appropriate sanctions.
