Trade Secrets
A Boutique Law Firm That Produces ResultsTrade Secret Attorney
Cantafio & Song PLLC handles the full range of intellectual property matters, including trade secrets. With decades of legal experience and an unwavering commitment to our clients, we are prepared to help you and your business develop and implement a plan to help you keep your valuable intellectual property secret from competitors. If your trade secret has been stolen or misappropriated, we can also advise you on your legal options.
Cantafio & Song PLLC can assist you with IP disputes and other business litigation involving:
- Misappropriation of trade secrets, including federal claims under the Defend Trade Secrets Act
- Injunctive relief regarding theft of trade secrets
- Protection of confidential information
- Unjust enrichment damages
- Duty of loyalty to an employer
- Nondisclosure agreements
- Non-compete agreements
Our goal is to help you proactively safeguard your trade secrets and take swift action to address improper use or disclosure.
What is a Trade Secret?
In order for information to qualify as a trade secret, the subject information has to have value because it has been kept secret and the owner must show they have taken reasonable steps to maintain the secrecy. The most well-known example of a trade secret is the formula for Coca-Cola. The formula has never been patented or disclosed to the public and Coca-Cola takes extraordinary measures to preserve the secrecy of its formula.
Trade secret protection has its advantages. One advantage is that the scope of information that can be protected as a trade secret is much broader than what can be protected by other forms of intellectual property rights. Customer lists, marketing strategies, recipes, proprietary processes, and other information essential to running a business are properly protected as trade secrets, but could generally not be patented, copyrighted or trademarked. Another advantage of trade secret protection is that as long as the secrecy of the information is maintained, the trade secret protection can last forever, at least theoretically.
Trade secret protection also has its downsides. Once a trade secret becomes known to the public through legitimate means, it is no longer protected. So, if another party independently develops the information or technology covered by a trade secret, and publicly discloses that information/technology, the original trade secret owner may have no recourse. Further, if a trade secret owner becomes lax in preserving the secrecy of the information, it may become publicly available and no longer subject to trade secret protection.
If you begin to sell a product embodying a trade secret, such that the trade secret can be discovered from the publicly available product, you have made your trade secret “available” and could lose your trade secret protection.
Trade secrets, used appropriately, can be a vital part of a business’s success. If you have information that you would like to protect as a trade secret, contact a member of our team who can help you design a program to ensure the secrecy of the information is protected. If you suspect that your trade secret has been compromised, do not delay in contacting a member of our team who can help you take swift legal action.
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Schedule Your Free Consultation NowOur firms mission is to obtain superior legal results for our clients, with unmatched customer service, while serving as trusted advisors. At Cantafio & Song PLLC, we pride ourselves with offering the highest quality of legal services by understanding and responding to our clients’ key objectives and goals. We remember that our clients look to us as problem solvers in an evolving legal environment. And we are always seeking to thrive as a firm through the referrals and opportunities we receive by obtaining superior results.