INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Trade Secrets
Your business’ trade secrets include all of the know-how you have developed about how to operate your business, your business plan and finances, employees, customer and vendor list, and any other information that is not known to the public (“Confidential Information”) that provides your business with an advantage because it is not known to the public. Confidential Information may also include other information that is not known to public that does not give your business an advantage.
Trade secrets must be protected by contract that obligate the entity to whom you are disclosing your trade secrets to protect them. If you do not protect your trade secrets and they become known to the public, then they are no longer a secret, and you lose all of your protection for that information.
Trade secret protection can last as long as you can keep the information secret. For example, one of the most famous trade secrets is the Coca Cola recipe.
WHAT IS A TRADE SECRET?
Any information that is 1) not publicly known and 2) has economic value to the owner of the information.
HOW DO I PROTECT A TRADE SECRET?
You need to sign a contract with any person, company, or other entity in which the entity agrees to protect the trade secret.
HOW DO I LABEL TRADE SECRETS AND OTHER CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION IN CONTENT?
WHAT HAPPENS IF I DO NOT REQUIRE SOMEONE TO SIGN A CONTRACT BEFORE I DISCLOSE TRADE SECRETS TO THEM?
You may lose all of your rights in the information.
HOW DO I PROTECT MY TRADE SECRETS IF SOMEONE TAKES THEM?
You may have to sue the entity that took the information under state or federal laws.
WHAT LAWS PERTAIN TO TRADE SECRETS?
Most states have some form of the Uniform Trade Secret Act (“UTSA”) https://www.wipo.int/edocs/lexdocs/laws/en/us/us034en.pdf. US federal law provides various protection under the Defend Trade Secrets Act (“DTSA”), https://www.americanbar.org/groups/business_law/resources/business-law-today/2016-september/explaining-the-defend-trade-secrets-act/.
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