Trade Secret Protection Programs
Intellectual Property and Technology | Trade SecretsWe help companies establish comprehensive trade secret protection programs including identification, classification, access controls, and documentation.
Overview
Building Systematic Trade Secret Protection
Trade secret protection requires systematic programs—not just agreements, but comprehensive approaches to identifying, protecting, and documenting confidential information. Our Trade Secret Protection Programs practice helps companies build programs that preserve secrecy and enable enforcement when misappropriation occurs.
Trade Secret Identification
Protection begins with knowing what to protect. We help companies identify trade secrets across the organization—formulas, processes, customer information, business strategies, and technical know-how. We work with technical and business personnel to catalog protectable information that provides competitive advantage.
Classification Systems
Different information requires different protection. We develop classification frameworks categorizing information by sensitivity and value. Classification drives appropriate handling procedures, access restrictions, and documentation requirements. Clear classification prevents both over-protection that impedes business and under-protection that creates risk.
Access Controls
Trade secrets require need-to-know access. We help implement access control systems restricting who can access what information. We address physical security, electronic access controls, and procedural safeguards. We balance protection with operational needs enabling legitimate business use.
Confidentiality Agreements
Agreements establish legal obligations. We develop template agreements for employees, contractors, and business partners. We ensure agreements cover appropriate subject matter with enforceable provisions tailored to applicable state law.
Employee Procedures
Employees are both the greatest asset and greatest risk for trade secrets. We develop onboarding procedures ensuring new employees understand confidentiality obligations. We create exit procedures protecting trade secrets when employees depart, including exit interviews and reminder letters.
Documentation and Evidence
Enforcement requires evidence of reasonable protection measures. We help create documentation demonstrating trade secret programs—policies, training records, access logs, and incident responses. Proper documentation supports both deterrence and enforcement.
Our Services
trade_secrets
Federal registration and validity opinions
labor_employment
Federal registration and validity opinions
intellectual_property_and_technology
Federal registration and validity opinions
Licensing & Transactions
Negotiate and draft license agreements
DMCA Services
Takedown notices and counter-notices
Enforcement
Cease and desist through litigation
Fair Use Analysis
Evaluate fair use defenses and risks
Music & Entertainment
Industry-specific copyright matters
Frequently Asked Questions
Information deriving economic value from not being generally known and subject to reasonable efforts to maintain secrecy. This includes formulas, processes, customer lists, and business strategies.
Measures appropriate to the circumstances—confidentiality agreements, access controls, physical and technical security, employee training, and marking confidential materials.
Systematic review with technical and business personnel identifying valuable confidential information. Consider what competitors would value and what provides competitive advantage.
Marking helps but isn't always required. Focus on materials containing particularly valuable trade secrets. Overmarking can dilute the significance.
Require NDAs before sharing. Limit disclosures to what's necessary. Document what was shared. Monitor compliance with confidentiality obligations.
Annual reviews are minimum. Review more frequently when circumstances change—new products, acquisitions, key employee departures, or security incidents.
Fair use is a defense that permits limited use of copyrighted material without permission. Courts consider four factors: the purpose and character of use (commercial vs. educational, transformative vs. copying), the nature of the copyrighted work, the amount used, and the effect on the market. Fair use is highly fact-specific.
For works created today by individual authors, copyright lasts for the life of the author plus 70 years. Works made for hire and anonymous/pseudonymous works are protected for 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation, whichever is shorter. Older works may have different terms.
Yes, software code is protected by copyright as a literary work. Both source code and object code can be registered. However, copyright protects the expression of ideas, not the underlying functionality—patent protection may be more appropriate for novel methods and processes implemented in software.
Our virtual legal services offer streamlined, cost-effective solutions for common copyright needs. Services like copyright registration, assignment agreements, and DMCA takedowns are available online with fixed, transparent pricing. You get the quality of a top IP firm with the convenience of digital delivery.
Related Matters
Represented streaming platform in landmark DMCA safe harbor case. Successfully defended client's safe harbor status while obtaining injunctive relief against repeat infringers, resulting in dismissal of $500M damages claim.
Prosecuted copyright infringement claims on behalf of professional photographers whose work was used without authorization. Secured significant damages award and implementation of improved licensing procedures.
Enforced copyright and trade dress rights in mobile game against clone applications. Obtained preliminary injunction and permanent removal of infringing apps from major app stores worldwide.
Cutting-edge case addressing use of copyrighted music in AI training datasets. Negotiated comprehensive licensing framework that allows continued AI development while protecting rightsholders' interests.
Prosecuted claims against former executive who copied proprietary source code to competitor. Established ownership under work-for-hire doctrine and obtained injunction plus damages for willful infringement.
Represented academic publisher in enforcement action against site hosting pirated textbooks. Implemented systematic takedown program and pursued contributory infringement claims against operators.
Get in Touch
Connect with our copyright team to discuss your matter
Practice Contacts
Michael Roberts
Sarah Kim
