(1) Any person who, with intent to deprive or withhold from the owner thereof the control of a trade secret, or with an intent to appropriate a trade secret to his own use or to the use of another, steals or discloses to an unauthorized person a trade secret, or, without authority, makes or causes to be made a copy of an article representing a trade secret, commits theft of a trade secret.
(2) As used in this section:
(a) Article means any object, material, device, or substance, or copy
thereof, including any writing, record, recording, drawing, sample, specimen,
prototype, model, photograph, microorganism, blueprint, or map.
(b) Copy means any facsimile, replica, photograph, or other reproduction of
an article, and any note, drawing, or sketch made of or from an article.
(c) Representing means describing, depicting, containing, constituting,
reflecting, or recording.
(d) Trade secret means the whole or any portion or phase of any scientific
or technical information, design, process, procedure, formula, improvement,
confidential business or financial information, listing of names, addresses, or
telephone numbers, or other information relating to any business or profession
which is secret and of value. To be a trade secret the owner thereof must have
taken measures to prevent the secret from becoming available to persons other
than those selected by the owner to have access thereto for limited purposes.
(3) (a) Theft of a trade secret is a class 2 misdemeanor.
(b) Notwithstanding section 16-5-401 (1)(a), C.R.S., any prosecution for
violation of this section shall be commenced within three years after discovery of
the offense.
L. 71: R&RE, p. 430, § 1. C.R.S. 1963: § 40-4-408. L. 89: (3) amended, p. 833, § 46, effective July 1. L. 98: (3) amended, p. 156, § 1, effective July 1. L. 2021: (3)(a) amended, (SB 21-271), ch. 462, p. 3177, § 206, effective March 1, 2022. L. 2023: (3)(a) amended, (HB 23-1293), ch. 298, p. 1785, § 12, effective October 1.
For the Uniform Trade Secrets Act, see article 74 of title 7.
