Trade Secrets
Retain Control Of Your Trade Secrets
It is often said that a trade secret is the opposite of a patent. A patent provides a public means of staking a claim in the right to control an invention. A trade secret, on the other hand, is something valuable and useful to your enterprise that you do not want the world to know about at all. A trade secret may be a:
- Client list
- Recipe
- Process
- Business plan
- Method of doing business
Courts have upheld that trade secrets may include negative knowledge — for example, evidence that a particular process does not work. This information may prove to give a rival an unfair advantage. Knowing what does and does not work can also be a trade secret worthy of protection by legal and practical means.
Trade Secrets And Intellectual Property Protection
Most companies with valuable trade secrets develop elaborate procedures for keeping them safe from imitation or application by others. It sometimes happens, however, that an employee with knowledge of a trade secret (such as a client list) takes the valued knowledge with him or her to a new job and puts it to use.
Maenner & Associates, LLC, can also advise you on how to protect your trade secrets and your options if a trade secret has been stolen from your business and disclosed to others.
An intellectual property attorney can help you and your business develop and implement plans for keeping trade secrets secret. Whether by way of documentation, locks, passwords, restricted access procedures or locked cabinets, you can plan to keep your trade secrets undisclosed to outsiders.
Extensive Experience And Proven Strategies To Keep Your Trade Secrets Sheltered
Discuss with a lawyer how you and your business can keep trade secrets out of the public eye, and retain control over them. For knowledgeable, reliable advice and direction in intellectual property legal matters in Pennsylvania, call 215-789-9357 or email Maenner & Associates, LLC.
Flat fees. No-obligation initial consultations.