D.Trade secrets

Every company generates large amounts of information it does not want to share publicly. All of this information is potentially protected by trade secret law. Common examples are product specifications, “secret recipes” for food or drinks, customer lists, marketing campaign and other business plans, and so on. There are no formal legal requirements required to claim a trade secret - no registration or other act is needed. But to win in court - the only way to enforce a trade secret - you have to prove two things: (1) that the information claimed as a trade secret has some value and is not publicly available; and (2) that the other party, the one being sued, wrongfully took or used the information. The most common type of trade secret lawsuit is against a former business partner, employee, supplier, customer, etc. These cases are usually about whether someone in a position of trust acted wrongfully - “misappropriated” information, in the technical language of trade secret law.

Though there are no formal requirements, to protect a trade secret it is necessary to show that you took steps to keep it confidential. Employees, business partners, potential investors and others with access to confidential information should sign nondisclosure contracts. Labeling documents “confidential” and keeping sensitive information in secure locations can also help.

Trade secret protection is broad and simple, and covers a large amount of information. It is an important - but sometimes overlooked - tool of IP strategy.