What secrets is your business keeping?
You’re obviously not going to tell us since it’s confidential information. A trade secret can be anything from a recipe to an algorithm, financial information, or even a business process.
A business’ trade secrets must remain confidential, otherwise, you could incur big financial losses. For adequate protection, you need a trade secrets lawyer.
Keep reading to learn why it’s important to have this professional on your team.
Get Advice on What Constitutes a Trade Secret
There’s a lot of information that you don’t want people, including some of your employees, to know. If such information were to become public, you believe that your business would lose a competitive advantage. However, not all of this information qualifies to be a trade secret.
So, then, what exactly makes a trade secret? In general, it ought to have the following characteristics:
- Have commercial value
- Be known to only a limited number of people
- The owner must have taken steps to keep it a secret.
As you can see, classifying some business information as a true secret isn’t easy. This is where a trade secrets attorney comes in. With their intricate understanding of intellectual property law, they’re well-positioned to help you identify what is and isn’t a trade secret.
Consequently, you won’t waste effort and money trying to safeguard information that isn’t even a trade secret in the first place. You’ll only focus on the information that matters.
Establish the Value of Your Secrets
How much are your business’s trade secrets worth? Could you be sitting on a billion dollars and you have no idea?
Determining the value of your trade secrets can be difficult because you may not have the necessary expertise. This is yet another reason to bring in a trade secrets attorney. They’ll assess your assets that qualify as secrets and determine their fair value.
Once you have a clear picture of how much your trade secrets are worth, you can make various commercial decisions. For example, if you’re sitting on a secret that can transform your business into a franchise network, you can decide to explore that possibility. Or you could license your technology and bank big money without doing the heavy lifting.
Legal Protection
There are intellectual property laws that make it easier for any business to protect its trade secrets without worrying about theft or infringements. If a party steals a trade secret, you can sue them in court and, if successful, get compensated for any losses you incurred.
You need a trade secrets lawyer whenever you want to legally protect your secrets. They’ll determine whether you have a secret that is patentable and proceed to file the patent with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. This trademark lawyer in Houston can help you with registering your trademarks.
Know When to Hire a Trade Secrets Lawyer
As a small business, hiring a trade secrets lawyer might not sound like a prudent use of money, especially if you’re on a tight budget. However, to ensure company success, trade secrets must be protected. A lawyer with the right expertise will give you the help you need.
