Trade Secrets
Our firm understands the importance of protecting trade secrets in the competitive marketplace. To effectuate the protection of your trade secrets, our tailored representation includes both preventative and litigation components to preserve value they play in the growth and survival of your business.
Preventative Component
Effective trade secret protection requires a variety of methodologies properly implemented in a business organization. These methodologies include, but are not limited to, non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements, non-compete (non-competition) agreements, internal policies and procedures, and compliance audits.
Non-Disclosure and Confidentiality Agreements Our firm works with our clients to develop targeted non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements to contractually obligate their employees and independent contractors to protect the confidentiality of trade secret and proprietary information. Such agreements need to be tailored specifically to the needs of each individual client. In particular, careful attention must be paid to the definitions included within the agreements to ensure effective enforcement - if necessary - by a court of law.
Non-Compete Agreements Like non-disclosure agreements, our firm works with our clients to develop targeted non-compete agreements to further protect their intellectual property. Typically, these non-compete agreements restrict a former employee's ability to engage in work similar to that described in the agreement. Our firm designs individualized agreements to effectively include enforceable limits on the scope of permitted and restricted employment, geographic location, and temporal restrictions.
Internal Policies and Procedures In ensuring the enforceability and effectiveness of non-disclosure agreements, it is essential to develop and implement internal policies and procedures designed to protect confidential and proprietary information. Our firm collaborates with our clients to develop and/or implement individualized policies and procedures.
Compliance Audits To ensure our clients' continued compliance with internal policies and procedures, our firm provides regularly scheduled audit services.
Developing NDAs and policies that contain core preventative components can help maintain trade secret protection.
Litigation can provide remedies of immediate relief to preclude disclosure and use of trade secrets.
Our firm has represented individual and corporate clients in matters involving trade secrets in Chicago, Illinois, our main office, as well as other states throughout the United States. We remain prepared and ready to become involved in litigation at a moment's notice so that we can effectively protect our plaintiff-clients' intellectual property as well as defend our clients' interests should they be sued for trade secret violations.
Offensive Litigation When trade secrets begin to be inappropriately disclosed, we recognize that time is of the essence and action must be immediate. Our firm stands ready to aggressively litigate the protection of confidential and proprietary information, including trade secrets. Our firm has experience and knowledge that enable it to effectively, efficiently and expeditiously pursue individuals (whether their identities happen to be known or not) who have violated our clients' intellectual property, confidentiality, trade secrets, and duty of loyalty. We have successfully pursued individuals who violate non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements as well as the competitor entities to whom the trade secrets have been inappropriately disclosed.
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