Trade Secrets
Programs, policies and contracts that keep your know-how yours.
Copy adapted from the previous site; confirm it’s current before launch.
Trade secret programs
We help you build a program to identify, establish and protect your company’s valuable secrets, with the policies, procedures and safeguards that make protection hold up.
People & policies
Sound human resources policies are the foundation of trade secret protection and risk management, and employee education is essential. That includes making sure new hires don’t inadvertently bring in the trade secrets of former employers.
Patent or trade secret?
Not every innovation should be published. We help you decide which to keep secret and which to relinquish in favor of published patent applications or issued patents.
What a sound program covers
01Every idea starts as a trade secret and requires unique, immediate and proactive care.
02Trade secrets need to be recorded in detail with verifiable time stamps soon after they are conceived.
03Strict safeguards need to be in place to keep information secret from unauthorized people.
04The level and extent of required protection needs to be reasonable for the business.
05Clear written policies for protecting trade secrets, and for whether and how to turn them into other forms of IP.
06Continuing education so employees and advisors understand what the company considers secret and how to protect it.
07Contracts with employees, contractors, vendors, customers and anyone with access to trade secrets.
08Reasonable nondisclosure terms, rather than nebulous, overly broad language.
09Collaborations that are clear on what each side considers secret and how it will be protected.
10M&A and licensing disclosures limited to what the transaction needs.
From Dave Stevens’ “Every Idea Should Be Born a Trade Secret”
