Protecting Trade Secrets For Companies Across The Nation
Companies work hard to distinguish their products and services from their competitors’ products and services within the marketplace. Those distinctions can constitute intellectual property as a trade secret deserving of legal protection. Schneer IP Law PLLC was founded in New York City in 2015 by trade secret attorney Ryan Schneer after he spent several years working as an examiner at the U.S. Patent and Trade Office (USPTO). He has the experience and knowledge needed to protect your company’s intellectual property rights and trade secrets.
What Is A Trade Secret?
Trade secrets are the only form of intellectual property (IP) that does not need to be registered with the government. Trade secrets are protected under contract law.
Examples of trade secrets that are subject to trade secret protection include:
- Recipes
- Secret formulas
- Computer search algorithms
- Secret lists of a company’s clients
In general, to qualify as a trade secret, the secret information must be commercially valuable, be known only to a select group of people, and be subject to reasonable steps taken by the rightful holder of the information to keep it secret, including the use of confidentiality agreements or employment agreements.
Protecting Trade Secrets
Schneer IP Law can prepare agreements, such as confidentiality and joint development agreements (JDAs), to protect trade secrets. The firm’s legal team is also skilled at balancing the secrecy requirements of trade secret protection with the disclosure requirements of patent protection that commonly arise in the pharmaceutical, food, and engineering industries, as well as the emerging cannabis industry.
Trade Secrets And IP Agreements
An Intellectual Property (IP) Agreement is a special contract between two parties that outlines and defines who owns what with respect to a specific type of intellectual property and that can be used to define and protect trade secrets. The firm analyzes and prepares IP Agreements and identifies potential IP issues stemming from collaborations with outside businesses or contractors on behalf of clients as necessary and when it aligns with a client’s intellectual property legal needs and goals.
Trade Secrets And the Employer-Employee Relationship
Having previously worked at a large firm with some of the world’s top employment attorneys, the firm’s founder, IP attorney Ryan Schneer, has maintained a laser-focus on patent law’s emerging intersection between trade secrecy and the employer-employee relationship. This intersection has only been magnified with the passage of the America Invents Act (AIA), which endorsed an employment agreement as a sufficient assignment of ownership from an inventor to his or her employer. The passage of the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA), further defined this niche area of intellectual property law by creating a federal cause of action against employee theft of trade secrets.
Schneer IP Law PLLC provides counsel and advice to business entities and companies regarding the best way to protect their intellectual property in the event of employee departures. Alternatively, the firm also helps employed inventors confidently protect their own innovations and inventions developed in their own time and protect them from an employer who might try to claim ownership.
Performing Due Diligence As Necessary
Schneer IP Law regularly performs the required due diligence during the sale, purchase, merger or acquisition process for business entities needing patent portfolios or information pertaining to licensing agreements.
Protect Your Company’s Trade Secrets. Call Today.
No matter what your specific trade secret scenario might be, whether your company is considering a sale or acquisition, or is in need of an IP agreement with an employee, Schneer IP Law can help. Contact the firm by calling Schneer IP Law or sending an email through the firm’s online form to schedule an initial consultation appointment to further discuss your legal goals and intellectual property needs.