Encino Trade Secrets Attorneys

Helping Companies Enforce Trade Secret Confidentiality in the Encino Area

Companies do not always have to seek patents, trademarks, or copyrights to protect intellectual property. In some situations, a company might not want to reveal formulas or procedures to obtain a patent, or it may have sensitive information that does not qualify for formal protections. In this situation, a company can seek to protect confidential information as trade secrets.

Once you deem something a trade secret, you must take steps to enforce its protection, as well as exercise your rights if the information is misappropriated or revealed. It is important to discuss information protection with an experienced Encino trade secrets lawyer, and the law firm of Kaufman McAndrew LLP is ready to help.

Protecting Trade Secrets

Trade secrets can be comprised of many types of information, including but not limited to the following:

  • Customer and marketing lists and information
  • Formulas or inventions that are unpatented
  • Processes and procedures
  • Techniques and strategies
  • Software
  • Anything else that provides your company with an advantage

In order for something to be protected as a trade secret, it must be something that is not known outside of your organization, has value to your company or industry, is challenging for other parties to discover or duplicate, and has reasonable measures protecting its secrecy.

Generally, companies protect trade secrets by having those in the know sign nondisclosure agreements (NDAs). This is only one way that a business can demonstrate it took measures to protect the proprietary information.

The Misappropriation of Trade Secrets

Even if an employee or another party signed an NDA, they might wrongfully reveal trade secrets to other parties, including competitors. This can often result in significant losses to a company, and it is important to take action under California trade secrets law. If you believe that a party misappropriated trade secrets, you can take legal action, including:

  • Seeking an injunction to stop the reveal of confidential information
  • Seeking damages to recover losses due to the misappropriation
  • Seeking punitive damages up to twice the value of your losses
  • Seeking attorney’s fees in cases involving egregious conduct

You can take action against the party that disclosed the trade secrets, as well as any other company that used the information to its advantage and your business’s detriment. Even if a company did not actually know it was using misappropriated trade secret information, California law holds an entity liable if it should have known. In some cases, trade secret misappropriation can even result in serious federal criminal charges.

Seek Assistance from Our Encino Trade Secrets Lawyers Today

At the law firm of Kaufman McAndrew LLP, we help businesses of all types protect their trade secrets and take appropriate action if you suspect misappropriation. Our Encino trade secrets attorneys know how critical this proprietary information can be to your operations and success, and we are on your side. Call 818-788-5767 or contact us online for a consultation to discuss your concerns and your options today.