Confidential Information is so closely tied to intellectual property that it is included in a business assets class of “Intellectual Assets” that also includes the four forms of intellectual property, i.e. patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets. Confidential Information Classifications In addition to trade secrets which are legally enforceable rights, there are a [...]
Intellectual Property Use Matrix Tying these forms of intellectual property and intellectual assets to business needs and activities are shown in the “Intellectual Property Use Matrix” figure. In this figure the four main business silos of executive and strategic management, manufacturing, operations, and financial are shown along with the typical ways in which [...]
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 [...]
Once answering the above questions the process of protecting trade secrets continues with the development of a trade secret security package. Utilizing written security agreements are the keystones to effective trade secret security. Such agreements take a variety of forms and should include employee training. The reasons for having such agreements are (1) [...]
Once confidential information is determined to be a trade secret, it is converted to a trade secret through increased security measures to protect it. Because there are so many ways trade secrets can be lost, a trade secret security audit is probably one of the best methods to ensure trade secrets are adequately [...]
If a trade secret seems like the best approach, then to obtain and keep a trade secret three criteria must be met. The first element of the criteria is that it really is a “secret” as shown in the “Element 1 of a Trade Secret” figure. The second element is that the secret [...]
Element 1 of a Trade Secret Patents and trade secrets present somewhat opposing choices. Trade secrets derive their legal protection from their inherently secret nature. Patents, by contrast, can only be protected through public disclosure. In fact, a patent will be invalidated if the inventor refrains from describing important details. This requirement, called [...]
Unlike patents and trademarks, copyrights are much less complex when it comes to defining the scope of what will be protected. Copyright applies as soon as a work product is reduced to a fixed form, and so there is no risk of loss of copyrights or inadvertent disclosure or use by another party. [...]
When considering a mark to use, after completing the searches, “implement” is the next step in the branding strategy. It is accomplished by acquiring rights in one or more marks. To obtain a registered trademark, the applicant must provide a description of the mark and the types of products and services in association [...]
Having identified one or more possible marks for particular product, the next step of the mark selection process is checking the marks availability for use. A screening search of federally and state registered trademarks usually makes an effective initial cut at an availability search. The purpose of the search is to determine if [...]
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