We definitely had a Trade Secret heavy September and we wanted to keep you up to date. This month there were 2 conferences in the US, dedicated to only Trade Secrets, showing the growth of knowledge around the importance of these valuable assets. The attendees at these conferences included a significant amount of in-house IP counsel and outside counsel who are mostly IP litigators. One very unique thing is that both conferences had federal and state judges there to answer questions on this rapidly changing and complex area of law. Some of the key takeaways from our attendance are as follows:

• Trade secret law is changing as the speed of innovation changes. The law is developing around key aspects of trade secret protection, and the Sedona Conference working group have put out excellent sources for how various parts of the law will Inform and influence how the laws are interpreted. 

• There is much controversy over whether or not a company should try to identify its trade secrets up front and keep a running list of them. 

  • The argument against is twofold:  

    • First, it’s hard to do because trade secrets are created over time and by many different parts of a company, and

    • Second, that if you "leave one off the list" that would give the other side in litigation a chance to say, "then you must not have seen it as a trade secret".

  • The argument for documenting trade secrets includes:

    • One: you have to identify trade secrets with "the specificity of a patent" according to multiple judges at the beginning of the litigation process and

    • Two: just because you leave something off the list, your ability to demonstrate that you're identifying and accessing specific countermeasures to at least your "Crown Jewels" will win favor with judge and juries.

  • There are strong counter arguments to both of these claims which will be further discussed in Mary's upcoming blog post. 

• "Reasonable Measures" are naturally becoming more focused on technology controls. Using "industry standard security" and applying it to your whole network will be increasingly scrutinized. 

• The banning of non-compete agreements in various states and potentially at the federal level (FTC decision pending) will have a significant impact on the way non-disclosure agreements and other countermeasures must be applied. 

Below are some more of the highlights: 

• Check out the recent Leader's Edge Magazine article by Michael Fitzpatrick where he interviews Mary Guzman on all things trade secret risk management. In addition, there is a fairly detailed discussion around how the insurance works.

  https://lnkd.in/evs6k-DG

• It's time again for #TradeSecretTuesday. Register today for the presentation on Tuesday, October 3rd at 11 AM EST.  This short and informal webinar will cover trade secret valuation: how it works, the benefits, how that relates to insurance and more.

  Use the link below to register and/or to receive the replay if that time doesn't work for you.

  https://lnkd.in/dsW2ipvc

• Mary Guzman was also quoted in an IAM article that refers to a knowledge gap in Trade Secret Risk. This gap was the very reason we created our Trade Secret Workshop solution. Our goal is to educate companies on how to identify/document their trade secrets, how to monetize these valuable assets, and how to protect them. These presentations range from one-hour to a half-day and can be tailored to meet your specific needs. The IAM article can be found here: https://www.iam-media.com/article/sluggish-take-of-trade-secrets-insurance-underscores-awareness-gap?

For more information on the workshop offerings or #TradeSecretTuesday, email us. We are currently running a promotion for a select few free 1-hour Trade Secret Bootcamps. Schedule your company's educational session now, before the spots fill up!