Safeguarding Your Trade Secrets and Intellectual Property
Trade secret protection is often overlooked and may extend to virtually any type of information that is proprietary and of value to a company.
Typical trade secrets include:
- An innovation for which a patent has been applied for but not yet publicly disclosed
- Formulas
- Drawings
- Business processes
- Manufacturing techniques
- Customer lists
- Pricing schemes
- Business models
- Sales techniques
A trade secret may last forever and may have a higher net present value than a formally-protected piece of intellectual property such as a patent.
Advice and Counsel for Protecting Trade Secrets
Vidas, Arrett & Steinkraus, P.A. provides advice and counsel to identify and protect your company's trade secrets. Through the use of a confidentiality agreement or non-compete agreement documents, we help minimize the potential for loss of vital information and processes. We also advise you as to what types of information a new hire may bring from a competitor, or if you can hire him without fear of litigation from that person's employer. We also advise you as to internal procedures to implement to insure that your valuable trade secrets qualify for trade secret protection.
We frequently counsel clients as to the advisability of marketing a product without a patent.
Successful Defenses to Allegations of Trade Secret Theft
Vidas, Arrett & Steinkraus, P.A. represents plaintiffs and defendants in trade secret litigation. If for example, the information was independently developed or available from third-party sources, a viable defense may exist.
In matters involving trade secrets, good record-keeping is imperative. The paper trail frequently resolves all issues concerning the establishment and the existence of a trade secret as well as provides possible defenses to allegations of theft. The attorneys at Vidas, Arrett & Steinkraus, P.A. can advise you in these matters.
For a consultation with a lawyer at Vidas, Arrett & Steinkraus, P.A. call 952.563.3000 or send us an e-mail. Located in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, we serve clients in Minnesota, throughout the country and around the world.