Information that is readily ascertainable by proper means is not a trade secret. RCW 19.108.010(4)(a). The burden on this issue rests with the plaintiff. Precision Moulding & Frame, Inc. v. Simpson Door Co., 77 Wn. App. 20, 25, 888 P.2d 1239 (1995), explains that a defendant need not establish that the information is known to or readily ascertainable by the general public in order to defeat the claim; the plaintiff cannot establish a trade secret if the information is generally known to or readily ascertainable by other persons.
Information must not be readily ascertainable from another source — including from the product itself. See Spokane Research & Defense Fund v. City of Spokane, 96 Wn. App. 568, 578, 983 P.2d 676 (1999); Boeing, 108 Wn.2d at 49–50. Where information is in the public domain and the end product is not original, no trade secret exists. Woo, 137 Wn. App. at 488–89.
Reverse engineering is a proper means of acquisition, and the jury may consider whether the claimed secret could have been reverse engineered when determining whether it qualifies as a trade secret at all. Boeing, 108 Wn.2d at 53–54; WPI 351.04.