Prove you had it. Keep it sealed until you need to prove it.
Your trade secret stays sealed. The proof doesn't have to.
The moment you disclose a trade secret to prove you own it, you risk losing the protection it carries. PriorMark gives you a third option: a tamper-proof timestamp that proves you had it — without revealing what it is. If ownership is ever challenged, you produce the original on your terms. Until then, it stays sealed.
Under the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) and Uniform Trade Secrets Act (UTSA), trade secret protection requires that owners take reasonable measures to maintain secrecy. The evidentiary dilemma in litigation: proving misappropriation typically means disclosing the secret — which can undermine the very protection you're enforcing. A forensic timestamp on the Hedera public ledger establishes prior possession without disclosure. You produce the original only when legally required, under protective order, and any party can independently verify it matches the sealed ledger record without premature exposure.
Common scenarios
A food and beverage company's proprietary formula is challenged by a former employee claiming independent invention. The company's PriorMark record — timestamped before the employee's tenure ended — establishes prior possession and supports a misappropriation claim under the DTSA. Only the fingerprint is presented in initial proceedings; the formula itself stays sealed under protective order until the company elects to produce it.
A SaaS company's proprietary pricing algorithm is allegedly taken by a departing executive who joins a direct competitor. The ledger record — predating the executive's departure — establishes that the algorithm existed, was protected, and was in the company's exclusive possession before the alleged misappropriation. That record supports both injunctive relief and damages claims under the DTSA.
A manufacturing firm develops a production process giving them a 30% cost advantage. Filing a patent would publish the process and eliminate trade secret status. Instead, they timestamp each iteration as it matures — building an auditable chain of custody that documents the full development timeline and can be produced in any misappropriation proceeding to establish prior possession and continuous reasonable measures.
Real Cases — when the proof wasn't there
These cases turned on the ability to prove what existed, when, and by whom. A forensic timestamp wouldn't guarantee a different verdict — but it would have changed the evidentiary foundation entirely.
DuPont sued South Korean manufacturer Kolon Industries for stealing trade secrets related to Kevlar — the high-strength fiber used in body armor, aerospace, and industrial applications. A former DuPont employee provided Kolon with confidential information about Kevlar's manufacturing process. The jury awarded DuPont $919.9 million — one of the largest trade secret verdicts in US history. The case was strong, but it took years of litigation and required extensive internal documentation to establish what had been misappropriated and precisely when DuPont had developed each element of the process.
Had they used PriorMark
Each development milestone — formulation changes, manufacturing process refinements, performance testing results — timestamped on a public ledger would have compressed years of evidentiary dispute into a verifiable chain of possession. The outcome may have been the same, but the path there would have been significantly shorter and cheaper.
Convolve developed proprietary technology to reduce disk drive noise and vibration and shared it with Seagate and Compaq under NDA during a potential licensing discussion. Both companies allegedly incorporated the technology into their products without ever completing a license agreement. Convolve sued for trade secret misappropriation. What followed was 15 years of litigation — one of the longest trade secret cases in US history. After more than a decade of appeals, retrials, and mounting legal costs, Convolve recovered approximately $3 million. The core problem was not that the theft didn't happen — it was that Convolve couldn't prove with sufficient specificity which elements of their technology qualified as trade secrets, where the boundaries of their IP were, and what exactly existed at the time they shared it under NDA.
Had they used PriorMark
Each iteration of the noise-reduction technology — timestamped on the Hedera ledger as it developed — would have created an independently verifiable chain of custody showing exactly what was proprietary, when it existed, and what was disclosed under NDA. The 'particularity' problem that collapsed 15 years of litigation would have been answered from day one. Not a guaranteed win, but the difference between a documented claim and a costly, unverifiable one.
How PriorMark helps
Forensic timestamp, not a disclosure
A forensic timestamp on the Hedera public ledger proves your secret existed at a specific moment — without revealing what it contains. Immutable, independently verifiable, and court-admissible.
Chain of custody on the ledger
Stamp each iteration as your secret evolves. The resulting chain of dated records documents prior possession and continuous protection — directly supporting the reasonable measures standard required under the DTSA and UTSA.
Produce on demand, under your control
If misappropriation is alleged, produce the original when required — not before. Any party can verify it matches the sealed ledger record. No intermediary, no premature disclosure.
See Trade Secret Holders pricing options.
Two simple tiers. One-time fee. No hidden charges.
Nothing on this page constitutes legal advice. A PriorMark forensic timestamp is evidence of prior possession — how it applies to your specific situation, dispute, or legal proceeding is a question for a licensed attorney. See legal context →
