Can business law help me protect my trade secrets?

by | Nov 2, 2018 | Business Law, Firm News

Innovation is a goal for every business in Louisiana and around the world. In today’s world, however, with many people trying to come up with the next great idea, it is important to protect one’s interests as much as possible. This is to ensure that the profits go to the person or entity that created the idea and put it into action rather than having someone else take advantage of information becoming public and taking it for their own. A big reason why many people have lost out on the benefits of their idea or creation is a failure to understand basic aspects of business law and how to protect trade secrets. This is a vital step and a law firm that understands all aspects of business can help.

A trade secret could be anything that builds a product or improves upon it. That secret is critical to the business being successful. Competitors are constantly looking for ideas and one mistake in defending a trade secret could have terrible consequences. The Uniform Trade Secrets Act is a method of protection for trade secrets. In general, it means that the information has economic value just by it not being known and it is possible to keep it a secret.

Businesses that are seeking to use this law to shield themselves must remember the following: know what must be protected; have documents that have protecting information properly labeled as such; keep track of where that information is located; ensure that computers are secured with passwords and other measures; keep secrecy when there are vendors involved in any aspect of the business; limit the amount of public access available to the company; be cautious with internal information; and have employees who are properly trained and adhere to the company policies.

Making a mistake in any of these areas as well as others can be costly in myriad ways. Before losing out on a strong idea to make profit and succeed, having legal assistance to protect these ideas or products is critical. A law firm that specializes in business law can assist with these protecting trade secrets and should be contacted from the beginning.