IP Law Daily, TRADE SECRETS—D. Idaho: Preliminary injunction denied in swag company trade secrets dispute, (Mar 5, 2026)

By Kevin M. Finson, J.D.

Claims for trade secret misappropriation were not likely to succeed on the merits because the plaintiff did not show an act of use or other misappropriation of the alleged secrets.

A company in the business of producing branded “swag" for other companies was not entitled to a preliminary injunction against the new employer of several former employees, the U.S. District Court in Boise has held. The founder of the swag business and the leader of one of the company’s offices had disagreements, leading to the office leader leaving, starting his own company, and taking some employees with him. The court found that the evidence did not support a finding of either likelihood of success on the merits or irreparable harm (Promo Shop, Inc. v. Jackalope, Inc., No. 1:25-cv-00094-AKB (D. Idaho Mar. 3, 2026)).

Promo Shop, Inc. (Promo Shop) is a nationwide promotional services and advertising company which acted as a distributor of branded “swag" items. Promo Shop opened an office in Boise, Idaho, and eventually the relationship between the founder of Promo Shop and the leader of the Boise office soured. The leader of the Boise office, along with several employees, left employment with Promo Shop and founded Jackalope, Inc. and Jackalope, LLC (collectively, Jackalope), which engaged in business similar to Promo Shop. Promo Shop brought suit against Jackalope for misappropriation of trade secrets and petitioned for a preliminary injunction. The court considered the traditional injunction factors.

Likelihood of success on the merits. The court held that Promo Shop failed to define its claimed secrets with sufficient particularity, conflating merely confidential information with statutory protective trade secrets. Specifically, client and employee records were not kept secret and the broad categorization of documents such as “files" and “forms" did not put the defendants on proper notice of the claims. On the issue of misappropriation, the court found that there were only speculative allegations of threatened harm, with no clear allegations of any particular act of use of the alleged secrets. Allegations of improper access to the files, without allegations of actual use, were not sufficient.

Finding that a likelihood of success on the merits had not been shown, the court denied the motion for a preliminary injunction after briefly noting that the risk of irreparable harm, balance of equities, and public interest factors did not overcome the likelihood of success issue.

The Case is No. 1:25-cv-00094-AKB.

Judge: Brailsford, A.

Attorneys: Dane Andrew Bolinger (Ennis & Hawley, LLP) for Promo Shop, Inc. Donald Z. Gray (Givens Pursley LLP) for Jackalope, Inc.

Companies: Promo Shop, Inc.; Jackalope, Inc.

Cases: TradeSecrets IdahoNews