Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Protecting your Trade Secrets

Through the years of my practice under the field of Intellectual Property, I have observed that many cases filed for violation of trade secret result in dismissal but for one technical reason.

What many claim as a trade secret is actually not within the definition of the law of what a trade secret really means.

If you are engaged in business of some sort and you are using a certain formula, process or design for a longer period that somebody is also using, it does not mean that you can immediately claim protection, when from the law for violation of trade secrets.

Before you raise your complaint in court, you must first have to examine the merits of your case. Maybe what you are claiming as trade secret are those ideas that are already known to the public.

In addition to this, several complaints in trade secret violation are filed by employers against their former employees.

How can one avoid this situation?

To prevent this, business proprietors or employers must require their employees to sign the non-compete and non-disclosure agreements. These vital documents prohibit them from disclosing trade secrets and help employers secure business information that may be used by employees against their interests in the future. At least with this procedure they can also have a legal recourse against their employee.

Under the law an employee who violated the non-compete and non-disclosure agreement may be subjected to financial liability aside from other sanctions provided by the state or federal laws.

Cases involving trade secret violations are often complicated and may involve many delicate issues that need to be addressed and proved. Hence, if you have any issues with regard to trade secret, the best thing to do is to seek the assistance of an attorney skilled in the field of Intellectual Property.