1. World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). (n.d.). Trade secrets. WIPO. In the section "What is a trade secret?", it is defined as "IP rights on confidential information" that "has commercial value because it is secret" and the holder has taken "reasonable steps to keep it secret." The scenario's algorithm and the company's actions align directly with this definition.
2. Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute (LII). (n.d.). Trade Secret. Wex Legal Dictionary. The LII defines a trade secret under the Uniform Trade Secrets Act as information, including a "formula, pattern, compilation, program, device, method, technique, or process," that derives independent economic value from not being generally known and is the subject of efforts to maintain its secrecy.
3. Pooley, J. (2015). The Uniform Trade Secrets Act. In Intellectual Property and the New Technological Age: 2015. Berkeley Technology Law Journal. Chapter 5, Section A, pp. 215-216. This text clarifies that software algorithms are a classic example of subject matter that can be protected as a trade secret, as opposed to trademarks or trade dress which protect branding and appearance.