E.I. duPont deNemours & Co. v. Christopher 431 F.2d 1012 (5th Cir. 1970) DuPont was building a chemical factory that involved some innovative equipment designs. They maintained security to stop people from entering the facility. However, a competitor (rumored to be BASF) hired Christopher to fly over the construction and take lots of photos. The idea was that the competitor could use the photos to recreate the layout of the plant. DuPont sued Christopher for misappropriation of a trade secret. Christopher made a motion to dismiss, claiming that they were flying in public airspace and doing nothing illegal by taking the photos. The Trial Court found for duPont. Christopher appealed. Christopher argued that in order for there to be misappropriation of a trade secret there must be trespass, other illegal conduct, or breach of a confidential relationship. There was nothing illegal about flying in a public airspace and taking photos, so how could they be accused of wrongdoing for looking at something that was in plain sight? The Appellate Court affirmed. The Appellate Court found that there was a cause of action for the discovery of a trade secret by improper means. The Court found that duPont had taken reasonable precautions to keep their designs secret. It would have been unreasonable to ask duPont to cover their half-built factory with a temporary roof during construction. Also, it was unforeseeable that someone would take photos from the sky, so duPont couldn't be expected to guard against it. The Court found that while a person may learn a trade secret by reverse engineering a publicly available product, one may not avoid doing the work themselves and merely take the process from the from discoverer without his permission at a time when he is taking reasonable precautions against his discovery. In general, in order to have a trade secret you must show that: You had information that had value. That value is increased by keeping it secret. You have taken 'reasonable efforts' to keep the information secret.