Trade secrets are intellectual property (IP) rights to confidential information that can be sold or licensed. In general, any sensitive business information that provides a company with a competitive advantage and is unknown to others can be protected as a trade secret. The words Company Confidential Information or similar words should be stamped or otherwise applied to all other pages of such documents. In general, trade secret protection gives owners the right to prevent information legally under their control from being disclosed, acquired, or used by others without their consent in a manner contrary to honest business practice.
As a condition of initial or continuing employment, all employees should be required to sign a non-confidential employment agreement setting out their obligations with respect to company trade secrets and other matters. Article 72 effectively removes PSI in the case of intellectual property infringement proceedings. However, trade secret aspects of such products or processes should not be disclosed in demonstrations unless the person or persons receiving the demonstration have signed a confidential disclosure agreement. While the conditions for the protection of trade secrets vary from country to country, some general rules on trade secrets law are found in Article 39 of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement).
Ask the employee the nature and subject areas of the work performed for previous employers (however, instruct the employee not to disclose any trade secrets or confidential information of any previous employer when answering this question). The trust law remains in effect until another inventor discovers the process without information from parties bound by confidentiality laws. Such trade secrets may not be used or disclosed outside the Company's premises, except under appropriate precautions to maintain the confidentiality of this document, and may not be used in any manner that is not expressly authorized by the Company. When seeking an action against someone for breach of trust, the primary purpose of the person filing the lawsuit is to prevent the other person from sharing sensitive information that is of value to the person taking the action.
The trade secret holder has the right to authorize a third party to access and use trade secret information. Where trade secrets cannot be marked as such, they must be accompanied by a confidentiality notice or otherwise designated as confidential by a method appropriate to the circumstances. When dealing with third parties or licensing its knowledge, the company signs confidentiality agreements to ensure that all parties know that secret information should not be disclosed. As such, it can be vital that companies understand the law when it comes to confidential information and trade secrets, and that they take appropriate steps to ensure that they are properly protected.
