Trade Secrets
Securing Competitive Advantage Through Confidentiality
Trade secrets are intellectual property (IP) rights on confidential information that may be sold or licensed (WIPO).
Trade secrets include strategies, designs, client databases, formulae, programs, and any other information that is confidential in nature and needs to be kept a secret.
Our practice helps businesses implement strategies to protect proprietary knowledge.
- Commercially valuable because it is secret,
- Be known only to a limited group of persons, and
- Be subject to reasonable steps taken by the rightful holder of the information to keep it secret, including the use of confidentiality agreements for business partners and employees.
Technical information, such as information on manufacturing processes, pharmaceutical test data, designs, and drawings of computer programs.
Technical information, suchmanufacturing processes, pharmaceutical test data, designs an drawings of computer programs.
A trade secret may be also made up of a combination of elements, each of which by itself is in the public domain, but where the combination, which is kept secret, provides a competitive advantage.
Contract law
- Non-disclosure agreement (NDA): Between employees and business partners that prevents them from disclosing a company's confidential information.
- Non-compete agreement (NCA): Between employees, contractors, and consultants to sign a non-compete agreement to prevent them from entering into competition when their employment/service agreement ends.
- Robust IT security infrastructure
- Controlling the accessibility of important documents
Copyright law
Copyright protects the expression in the compilations, and the other trade secret laws protect the underlying data. However, in practice these two elements often converge so much so that any infringement of the copyright can also harm the secrets of the business.
Principles of equity and common law action of breach of confidence (which is basically breach of an obligation to keep a piece of information secret).
The Information Technology law of 2000 also sets legal means of protection for confidential information in the form of electronic records.
Enforcement of trade secrets
Civil action: Misappropriation or unauthorized disclosure of trade secrets includes civil action for breach of contract and wrongdoing due to misappropriation.
An injunction granted by courts can restrain the wrongdoer from disclosing trade secrets, and damages can be sought by the trade secret owner.
Other civil actions that the courts can grant to the trade secret owner in case of trade secret leakage are the return of trade secrets or materials containing trade secrets.
Criminal action: for theft and breach of trust. A fine or imprisonment can be granted by courts under the penal code, copyright, and information technology law.
Our attorney at AWALNUT IPR helps the clients to create protection of trade secrets by writing NDAs and non-compete clauses for the client's business's employment contracts. Employees create and use trade secrets, so clearly communicating confidentiality expectations through
These agreements are critical to avoid trade secret infringement.
Our attorney at AWALNUT IPR can help protect a client's business from unauthorized disclosure and use of trade secrets and can help advise them on when to use an alternative form of intellectual property protection to secure their trade secret.