Protecting your Trade Secrets

Many businesses owe their success to trade secrets. Protecting it may mean continued growth of the business. According to the Uniform Trade Secrets Act, trade secret means information, including a formula, pattern, compilation, program, device, method, technique or process that: (1) derives independent economic value, actual or potential, from not being generally known to, and not being easily ascertainable by proper means, by other persons who can obtain economic value from its disclosure or use, and (2) is the subject of efforts that are reasonable under circumstances to maintain its secrecy.

In order to protect your trade secrets, you must do the following:

1. Find out what needs protection. Information you want to protect requires secrecy. Try not to be too inclusive so as not to trivialize protection. Protect trade secrets only.
2. Label protected information documents. Said documents must be labeled confidential. Check and limit its circulation.
3. Computers must be secured. Passwords must be used and distributed with increased caution.
4. Maintain the secrecy of your trade secrets. You can include a strict confidentiality provision regarding your trade secrets. You can have different sources for your product’s parts. Divulging the final product and the relationship of the parts will do you no good.
5. Prioritize security above anything else. Lock the doors and filing cabinets properly to provide enough security. If your resources can afford security officers, secure zones and badges, the better the security is.
6. Exercise international caution. Be wary to whom you disclose information internationally. Be reminded that not all countries respect US statutes in connection with trade secrets.
7. Monitoring is necessary. Information audit must be resorted to settle on where important information is stored and who has access over it. Weak spots should also be determined. Not only that, you must also include all the hard copies, desktop and laptop computers as well as diskettes in the auditing process.
8. Limit access to public. Control access and as much as possible require a login section for the visitors to log in.
9. Implement employee training and policies. Include in said training and policies the non-disclosure of trade secrets. Inconformity with it can be a sanction to penalties. Exit audits are also are also advisable to those leaving employees. This will make them return trade secret materials at the same time this will serve as a caution not to disclose.
10. Acquire the services of a skilled lawyer. A skilled lawyer can assist you facilitate the applicability and enforceability of statutes regarding trade secrets. He can eventually guide you what to prioritize to secure confidentiality at your advantage.

Failure to recognize trade secrets may mean defeat in the market. Protection of the same entails several steps, all of which are reviewed and maintained regularly. In protecting it, existing statutes must be properly complied with. Failure to comply with the steps means no protection at all.

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