The Ghost of Sears-Compco is Finally Laid to Rest (Or Is It?)

Last term the Supreme Court ended nearly ten years of speculation concerning the potential impact on state trade secret law of its companion decisions in Sears, Roebuck & Co. v. Stiffel Co. and Compco Corp. v. Day-Brite Lighting, Inc. Those cases seemed to raise the possibility that any state law protection for scientific or technical ideas might be invalid as inconsistent with the patent system enacted by Congress.