<Li> That information must have been imparted in circumstances imparting an obligation of confidence; </Li> <Li> There must be an unauthorized use of that information to the detriment of the party communicating it . </Li> <P> The "quality of confidence" highlights that trade secrets are a legal concept . With sufficient effort or through illegal acts (such as breaking and entering), competitors can usually obtain trade secrets . However, so long as the owner of the trade secret can prove that reasonable efforts have been made to keep the information confidential, the information remains a trade secret and generally remains legally protected . Conversely, trade secret owners who cannot evidence reasonable efforts at protecting confidential information risk losing the trade secret, even if the information is obtained by competitors illegally . It is for this reason that trade secret owners shred documents and do not simply recycle them . </P> <P> A successful plaintiff is entitled to various forms of judicial relief, including: </P>

A list of customers can be considered a trade secret