Protecting your Trade Secrets
By Maricon Williams |
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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