Establishing a Comprehensive Program to Protect Trade Secrets, Confidential Information, and Goodwill

Trade secrets, confidential information, and goodwill can rank among a company’s most valuable assets, but they are exposed to substantial risk of loss if not properly protected. In today’s environment, the tools available to protect these assets — such as trade secret audits, noncompetes, non-solicitation agreements, anti-piracy agreements, invention assignments, and confidentiality covenants — are vulnerable. In order to maximize protection, it is necessary to understand the available tools, their respective advantages and limitations, and their inter-relationships as well as how to establish a comprehensive program through proper advance planning.

This Foley Executive Briefing Series program provided advanced exploration of these various tools, including methods for maximizing their effectiveness. After a brief discussion of applicable law, the program addressed the following topics through hypothetical situations and question and answer:

• Conducting a proper trade secret audit and assessing which other assets require protection
  
• Determining the level of protection necessary for each type of asset
  
• Implementing the available protections to deter misappropriation of corporate assets
  
• Maximizing the likelihood of legally enforceable protections without negatively impacting corporate culture
  
• Establishing procedures for a prompt and proper response to an actual or threatened misappropriation or misuse of these assets
  
• Navigating the legal process

The informal and interactive session was moderated by Foley Litigation Partner Russell Beck and Senior Counsel Nicole Gage of the firm’s IP Litigation and Trademark, Copyright & Advertising Practices.

Establishing a Comprehensive Program to Protect Trade Secrets, Confidential Information, and Goodwill is part of the Foley Executive Briefing Series.