California business owners are typically not afraid of competition. After all, when similar businesses are selling services or products, it stimulates the economy. However, when it comes to trade secrets, no business owner wants secured information revealed to the public, especially to direct competitors.
A new business owner might be unaware of exactly what constitutes trade secrets. To protect business assets, it is important to understand the basics of intellectual property laws and issues pertaining to trade secret infringement.
The owner of a trade secret can prohibit disclosure
Included in the following list are six issues that constitute trade secrets in business:
- Processes
- Designs
- Patterns
- Recipes
- Formulas
- Methods
There are numerous other issues that are legally protectable, as well. For instance, if a company sells a confectionary food item and wishes to keep its recipe secret, it might be an infringement of intellectual property rights for an employee to sell the recipe to another business owner.
Misappropriation of trade secrets is a criminal offense
Stealing trade secrets is an act that is punishable under the law. Of course, a business owner would have to substantiate a claim of infringement of intellectual property rights. Anyone considering filing a lawsuit regarding this issue may be in a better position to protect business interests in court if he or she seeks consultation with an experienced intellectual property law attorney, ahead of time. The attorney can review a case, then make recommendations for litigation strategies and act on a business owner’s behalf in navigating the case through the court system.