Trade secrets
Whether we’re advising on how best to protect your trade secrets or handling a misappropriation dispute, we help companies protect their creative and intellectual capital.
Why it matters
Companies must make sure their own activities don’t give rise to claims that they misappropriated someone else’s trade secrets.
These issues are particularly important today, as joint ventures, partnerships and confidential relationships with employees, customers and vendors have become standard for growing businesses.
Relationships that need protection:
About our trade secret services
We help companies identify what information is worth protecting and put practical safeguards in place: confidentiality and invention assignment agreements, access controls, and clear processes when employees join or leave.
When disputes arise, we advise on both sides, whether your confidential information has been taken or your company faces a claim that it misused someone else’s. Early action often preserves options that are lost later.
Your patent attorney
A Registered Patent Attorney licensed to practice law in California and to represent inventors and companies before the USPTO. Before becoming an attorney, he worked as a process engineer at Intel, then moved to Intel's legal department for patent licensing and prosecution.
FAQ
General information, not legal advice for your situation.
Still have questions?
Speak with a Registered Patent Attorney
Schedule a consultation to discuss your matter, or call (408) 520-8701.
Information that has value because it isn’t generally known, such as formulas, processes, source code, customer lists or pricing, and that you take reasonable steps to keep secret.
It depends. A patent gives strong rights for a limited time but requires public disclosure. A trade secret can last indefinitely, but only while it stays secret, and it doesn’t stop others from independently developing the same thing.
Have confidentiality and invention assignment agreements in place from day one, limit access to what each role needs, and hold an exit process that recovers company information. In California, non-compete agreements are generally unenforceable, so these measures matter even more.
Preserve relevant documents, don’t contact the other side directly, and get legal advice quickly. Early steps can significantly affect the outcome.
A patent protects an invention, such as a new device, process or design. Examples: a new kind of medical sensor, a faster manufacturing method, or the unique shape of a product (a design patent).
A trademark protects the names, logos and slogans that identify your brand. Examples: a company or product name, a logo, or a tagline used on your packaging and website.
A copyright protects original creative work. Examples: software code, a website’s text and photos, marketing videos, or a song.
A trade secret protects valuable confidential information for as long as it stays secret. Examples: a recipe or chemical formula, a manufacturing process, or a customer list and pricing strategy. Coca-Cola’s formula is a well-known example.
Most companies need more than one. A startup might patent its device, trademark its product name, copyright its app code, and keep its manufacturing process as a trade secret.
Schedule a consultation to discuss how to protect your trade secrets. We’ll agree on scope, timing and fees before any work begins.