Trade Secret

Overview

Today, perhaps more technical information is being held in the form of trade secrets than ever before. With the prevalence of digital information, the ability of employees to easily depart with data, and industrial espionage and hacking, it is critical that companies make every effort to protect their trade secrets.

Meunier Carlin & Curfman helps our clients to identify and protect their trade secrets and to bring legal action in the case of misappropriation.

Protecting Trade Secrets

Trade secrets play a vital role in corporate strategy and can be an important part of a company’s valuation. By its nature, a trade secret consists of confidential information that has commercial value, provides a competitive advantage, and is protected by the company that owns it.

MCC helps companies create and review their security systems, policies, and procedures in order to protect their trade secrets, which can come in the form of programs, devices, methods, techniques, processes, formulas, patterns, or compilations. Our attorneys assist clients in developing and implementing available legal protections, including trade secret audits, non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) and work-for-hire and other contractual arrangements.

We guide established corporations and startup companies alike in a wide range of sectors, including computer hardware and software, telecommunications, information technology, industrial equipment and processes, medical devices, biotechnology, automotive and other manufacturing, aerospace technology, and artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning.

Trade Secret Litigation

On top of legal methods of reverse engineering, industrial espionage and unauthorized disclosure and use are a fact of life in today’s marketplace. We assist companies in auditing their proprietary information, and identifying information breaches and the misappropriation of their trade secrets. In such cases, we work with clients to protect their assets through legal actions and guard against further breaches.

When necessary, we bring litigation in federal or state courts to enjoin misappropriation and ensure that steps are taken to maintain secrecy. While each situation varies, legal remedies can include injunctions, royalty payments to the owner or other damages, attorneys’ fees, and court costs.