Have you considered a strategy to protect your San Diego company with trade secrets? Recent developments have eliminated the option of non-compete agreements in California. What is the best legal strategy to protect your business information, practices, intellectual property and even customers and suppliers? How could the identification, isolation and implementation of a trade secret protection strategy help to protect your company and it’s interests?
Important Steps to Create a Valid Trade Secret Strategy
What are the most important steps to create a valid trade secret strategy? How can the San Diego Business Attorneys at the Watkins Firm apply their 40+ years of successful experience to protect your San Diego company with trade secrets? Trade secrets are primarily established by the nature of the “trade secret” itself. These are genuine secrets. They cannot be ascertained reasonably or independently outside of the context of your business.
A trade secret can include a substantial amount of private, internal and confidential information such as supplier and customer lists, acquisition costs, the strategies of marketing and associated services, algorithms and other proprietary software, a unique combination of products and/or ingredients, processes, unique services, technical insights, and intellectual property. The first step is simply to work with your experienced Watkins Firm business attorney to identify applicable trade secrets.
The next step in the process is to limit access to these trade secrets. The nature of a secret is that it is not known to many people. The same is true with a trade secret. It should be safely secured, and accessible only by those employees who absolutely require that access as part of their job-related duties. Secrets have limited access on a “need to know basis.”
“Misappropriation” is How to Protect Your San Diego Company With Trade Secrets
So how can trade secrets protect your company and internal information? How can you prevent a former business partner or employee from taking your genuine trade secrets and selling them or using them against you in the marketplace? The answer in California is a case involving the “misappropriation of trade secrets.” While California has all but legally obliterated non-compete options, the pursuit of a misappropriation of trade secrets case is not only viable but productive in our state.
We must be able to prove the trade secret was, in fact, misappropriated. We must be able to prove access to the information, knowledge or other trade secrets was obtained through deception or dishonesty, and ultimately illegitimately removed from the company and used or disclosed by the individual(s) in question. A successful case for misappropriation requires proof that the individual(s) “misused or disclosed” your trade secrets resulting in harm to your business.
The Threats of Remedies for Misappropriation Protect Your San Diego Company with Trade Secrets
The threat of the powerful remedies for misappropriation protect your San Diego company with trade secrets and the appropriate internal process to identify and secure them. Your Watkins Firm attorney brings more than 40+ years of experience to your side of the equation in these important cases. We can and will seek an immediate injunction to prevent the individual(s) from using trade secret information in the future.
If the damage cannot be undone the Court may order the defendant in your case to pay fines and/or a royalty for their use of your trade secret(s). The Court may award a series of substantial financial damages associated with the misappropriation, and in cases of willful or malicious actions punitive remedies are available.
In short, you may be able to accomplish your goals and objectives to prevent a former partner or employee from using your trade secrets against you. This is why it is important to work with the San Diego business attorneys at the Watkins Firm. We invite you to review our podcast episodes 11 and 12 on Resolving Business Disputes as well as the strong recommendations of our clients and contact the Watkins Firm or call 858-535-1511 for a complimentary consultation today.
