Question
Good morning everybody,
We are a startup company based in the UK and would like to strengthen our protection against intellectual property theft. However, it seems that a protection by Patent etc. would be very expensive. Therefore, we would like to choose a strategy that focuses on Trade Secrets, which I understand is protection for "free", as such. I would like to know, how do we set up an efficient system that protects our Trade Secret, for instance, what sort of agreement would we have to use with our employees?
Thank you very much, sincerely,
J.L.
Answers: 2 public & 2 private
Thinking that an "agreement with employees" is an efficient way to protect trade secrets is naïve. All that does is create a path to lawsuits with employees (or ex employees) and once the trade secret is revealed, it is gone!
A company must have a secure process of insuring that trade secrets are not easily available, are securely handled, and are only accessible to your most trusted employees. Depending on the trade secret, (formula, process, etc.), it may also be wise to create separate pieces that remain independent of any one person to have access to. If your business depends on the security of a trade secret, no measure is too extreme to protect it.
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