The Modern Business Owner’s Guide to Trade Secret Protection

Trade Secrets often give your business a competitive advantage in the marketplace, but if you don’t

properly secure them, leaks, that will cut your legs out from under you, could happen at any time. A

small mistake can lead to your business struggling to survive in a competitive world.

So, when it comes to the protection of trade secrets, the stakes are high, but to make sure that you

don’t get caught in a bind, this article can serve as your guide.

Protective Strategies for 2024

It might seem impossible to protect trade secrets, but it’s all about simple yet effective protection

strategies.

For starters, since we know that many trade secrets are leaked by current employees or disgruntled former employees, focusing on employees is a great starting point. You can head off potential leaks by interviewing candidates more carefully. You might even consider requiring employees to sign

confidentiality agreements and non-compete agreements. While this is an important step, it’s by no

means your last.

Collaboration is an important part of innovation, so addressing trade secrets that are shared with other

companies for collaborative projects is a crucial step when protecting your trade secrets. Make sure that

there is clear understanding that secrets should only be disclosed when absolutely necessary and

consider utilizing non-disclosure agreements.

But what if you don’t know where the leaks are coming from? It’s going to be hard to stop them, so

preventative measures are important to take. Before these leaks become an issue, try implementing

stricter security measures, like establishing visitor protocols, utilizing access badges, hiring overnight

security, monitoring facility access and putting a cybersecurity team in place.

Because there are so many steps you can take to protect your trade secrets, make sure you use a holistic

approach that takes any place where a leak could spring into account.

Mitigating the Risks

As well as the strategies mentioned above, there might be other opportunities to mitigate the risk of

trade secret theft. Building workplace morale and creating a culture where policies are enforced evenly

and fairly can make a huge difference in the protection of trade secrets; utilizing exit strategies for

employees leaving your business so that they fully understand their contractual obligations with specific

regards to trade secrets can make a similar difference as well. And for good measure, revisiting

cybersecurity protocols and existing policies and practices can give you the added sense of security that

you need to run an effective business.

Enforcement

In the event that your trade secrets are compromised, legal action is necessary. By demonstrating that a

trade secret was misappropriated in violation of an existing contractual agreement, you could obtain

remedies, including:

- An Injunction

o An injunction will effectively prevent the party that has gained your trade secret from using, disclosing, and in any means abusing it any further.

- Damages

o If you or your business has been harmed by the misappropriation of a trade secret, then you should be able to gain compensation for damage that’s been caused.

- Return of the secret

o Stolen trade secrets are often stored on digital devices and may even be captured in physical documents and photographs. In these cases, you can have the secret returned, giving you the peace of mind that your trade secret is not making the rounds amongst your competitors.

Do You Need Help Addressing Your Trade Secret-Related Issues?

In that case, you’ll want to educate yourself as much as you possibly can in this area of the law; sounds a

little daunting, huh? Well fear not. There are advocates who may be able to help you properly address

your trade secret concerns so that you can move forward fully secure in the knowledge that your best

interests are being well taken care of.