Trade secret control

TRADE SECRETS IN THE TECH INDUSTRY AND COMMON WAYS TO PROTECT IT

A trade secret is any information or business concept that is associated with commercial benefits.?It could also be a business model or concept that reduces costs, grows revenue, and allows for premium pricing.

The difference between a trade secret and a simple business idea is that a trade secret has a proven track record. The owner of the trade secret must have applied it repeatedly for commercial success or business growth.

Major examples of trade secret in the technology industry include product development process, source code, engineering designs, data, distribution techniques, customers lists, e.t.c

All of these would qualify as trade secrets if the information is

·????????Confidential and it provides a competitive edge to the tech company.

·????????Commercially valuable and known to only a limited group of persons.

·????????Reasonable steps have been taken by the holder of the information to keep it secret by using confidential agreements for employees, partners and external consultants. ?

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The Google search algorithm is one of the best kept trade secrets in the world. The algorithm was developed in 1997 and Google has continuously refined it. Despite the presence of so many other search engine platforms, Google has remained the no one search engine in the world.

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There are two factors that strongly influence trade secrets protection in technology firms. The first is a legal framework and the second is a managerial framework. The legal framework begins with having relevant contracts needed to secure trademark protection within an existing firm.

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IP Assignment contract – this contract ensures that all the intellectual property created within your organization (either by a consultant, employee, founder, ex-employee) is owned by your company.??

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Confidential agreement – this agreement is drafted for your employees and business partners, describing vividly the major proprietary ideas and trade secret existing within business transaction with a strict warning against disclosing same to third parties.

Employee exit declaration – this is a checklist that a company would ask the employee to sign to confirm that he or she has returned all company’s information and data upon termination of employment.

Inventor agreement – used by inventors to protect unpatented inventions during discussions with third parties.

Interview non-disclosure agreement: used to make sure rejected job applicants do not disclose proprietary information learned during the interview process.

It’s important to note that if these contracts are properly drafted to reflect the purpose of the agreements and to protect the required trade secret, you can be sure that you have maximised the legal frame-work required to keep your business steady. If there is any breach, the tech company can demand for financial compensation or damages because of the breach from the disclosing party

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On the other hand, the managerial framework is simply about putting internal and external processes to check, secure and protect trade secrets.

The first step in the managerial process is to first identify what trade secret exists in your company. You can do this by paying attention to the key data, analytics and insight behind your commercial advantage in the marketplace.

After identification, find out what key people have access to the trade secret and make them signatories to a non-disclosure agreement.?

Discover the risks associated with the loss of the trade secret, identify the areas of breaches and leaks, spot out the departments that are most vulnerable, and make efforts to secure those critical areas.

Get to educate your employees and senior associates about how important a trade secret is to the business.?Build a corporate culture around trade secret protection for your organization. Adopt trade secret policies and keep reminding your staff about it from time to time.

Some of the standard obligations your employees should know include:

·????????Not permitting third parties to use office mobile devices, except allowed by the company.

·????????Employees should not change passwords and administrative settings without express permission.

·????????Policies that prohibit posting, sharing and discussion of confidential information about the company on social media platforms.?

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Don’t forget to create a functional team to monitor trade secret leakage and cyber-attacks within your business. ?

Adopt cyber security measures, such as having a suspicious email reporting system to help track any employee sending wrong emails out containing sensitive information from the company.

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There are some of the internal processes you should put in place to ensure that you keep making commercial waves with your trade secret. Trade secrets are a big thing for multinationals and star-ups. The earlier you get to it, the better it is for you.

?Would you like to know more about intellectual property assets and how you can capture organizational value from it? Then buy a copy of my book.

Link to purchase: bit.ly/Profitfromip

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THE STARFIELD LEGAL PRACTITIONERS

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It’s a consulting firm providing legal advisory services to organizations across Africa. We are your ideal partner in business and innovation, providing premium legal advisory services to help you achieve your business goals.

Industries we serve

Technology

Agriculture

Media and Entertainment

Real Estate Sector.

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Our services include start up legal advisory, corporate governance for corporate institutions, data privacy and tax compliance, corporate business registration, real estate acquisition and development, fin-tech legal compliance services, contract drafting review and negotiation, intellectual property management, licensing, and IP portfolio management.

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Contact

Email: Starfieldbiz@gmail.com

Phone number: 07081842835