Robert Simms worked for CEM Media USA, a marketing company focused on the technology industry. As CDM’s point person for social media, Simms created, controlled, and managed various social media groups and profiles to promote his employer. 

LinkedIn is a leading social media site for professional and business networking. The site’s user agreement informs its members that “your account belongs to you.” Through his personal LinkedIn account and on behalf of CDM, Simms launched a LinkedIn group called the CIO Speaker Bureau. This private online community sough to bring together technology executives interested in CDM’s services. Simms adopted LinkedIn’s strictest privacy setting, so the names of Bureau members and their communications were not available to the public at large. Over time, the group grew to 679 members and became a valuable source of clients for CDM. 

Four years later, Simms left to work for a technology company called Box, which was one of CDM’s largest clients. Upon departure, Simms refused to relinquish control of the LinkedIn group or to provide CDM with the group’s membership. CDM sued Simms for misappropriation, arguing that the LinkedIn members were a company trade secret. 

Questions:

1. Is the list of members in a LinkedIn group a trade secret?

2. Is it correct to say that the Bureau list is not a secret because it was announced in CPM’s press release?