Making a Step-By-Step Plan Helps Protect Business Trade Secrets

You might not think your Woodland Hills, California business has trade secrets in need of protection. However, this is probably not entirely the case. Even things like how you arrange employee schedules may be worthy of protection. If you have created an innovative and flexible approach to employee scheduling, for example, you might want to protect it legally.

The example above is over-simplified, but it should give you an idea of how even seemingly minor business tactics can add value to your company. Logically, taking steps to protect them is in the best interests of your operations.

How Can a Step-By-Step Plan Help?

A top benefit of thinking about trade secret protection is that it helps you identify what you need to guard. The more you consider what increases your company’s value or makes it stand apart from competitors, the easier it is to identify possible trade secrets.

An ideal first step in guarding your trade secrets is identifying and listing what needs protection. Additional steps to take include:

• Make it physically difficult for others to access your secrets (visitor protocols, surveillance, etc.)
• Increase your cybersecurity to prevent others from accessing and stealing digital information
• Learn the tactics nefarious people or companies use to gain access to protected business materials
• Provide a comprehensive training program to help your employees avoid compromising your business property
• Identify and appoint a trusted employee to manage your trade secret protection plan (or do it yourself)
• Create a legal strategy that addresses trade secret theft to minimize the possible harm to your business

It is also wise to become as familiar as possible with California business and commercial law, including the in-depth protection of your intellectual property.