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The NAM and other groups filed an amicus brief urging the court to overturn a decision that requires the disclosure of company trade secrets without compensation. While this case concerns the ingredients and formulas information in tobacco products, it posed a direct threat to trade secrets for every company that engages in research and development and that depends on intellectual property. The lower court ruled that a Massachusetts law may require public disclosure of trade secret information without just compensation simply because the disclosure "could reduce risks to public health," a highly speculative and amorphous standard. Surprisingly, the lower court ruled that trade secrets are not property at all. On 12/2/02, the First Circuit agreed with us that trade secrets deserve as much protection under the Takings Clause of the Constitution as do any other property.