License agreements: Should the company consider licensing its proprietary information to a third party, it must take all reasonable steps to ensure that the third-party will treat the information as confidential and that that party will use that information in accordance with the agreement fashioned between the parties. Thus, before disclosing any of its proprietary information, the company should have the third party execute a confidential disclosure agreement to protect the proprietary information from improper use or disclosure during the evaluation process. If the parties continue the relationship a subsequent written agreement needs to be signed protecting the company’s proprietary information both during and after the relationship.

Visitors’ confidentiality agreement: To ensure the guests on the company’s premises are aware that they are going to be given access to proprietary information and that they will not improperly use such information, signed confidentiality agreements should be required of all visitors before access to such information is provided.

Company confidentiality policy statement: It is important that employees recognize the importance of proprietary intellectual assets and protect those assets from improper use or disclosure. To this end an intellectual asset policy statement should be distributed to those employees having access to such information. This statement should inform the employees of the nature of the company’s proprietary intellectual assets and counsel them on the basic principles of intellectual asset security.