One of the greatest challenges faced by many companies is the tension created between the patent laws and the law of trade secrets.   In simple terms, a trade secret is something that is not generally known to the public, giving the possessor of such information a competitive edge or market advantage.  Patent law requires disclosure of ideas in exchange for a period in which the patentee can prevent others from using an idea, thus a conflict of philosophy is born. 

We tailor a trade secret protection policy that meets the needs of our client. This means, in some cases, we review the physical security of our clients' facilities to make certain that security will withstand the requirements of trade secret law.  We also help our clients draft non-disclosure agreements that allow them to share secrets with business partners without destroying the integrity of their trade secret rights.  Our firm has also helped many clients develop outside submission policies that protect our clients from spurious allegations of unfair competition or trade secret misappropriation.

Many of our clients are emerging high technology companies.  Therefore, it is critically important to provide first class proactive advice early in the life of an idea.  We help our clients evaluate the pros and cons of keeping an idea as a trade secret early on in the life of the idea.