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What are Trade Secrets and Why Do They Matter to My Business?

February 8, 2018 By Kelley Keller

What are Trade Secrets and Why Do They Matter to My Business?

Trade secrets are a type of intellectual property that can have significant value for your company, including monetary value. However, they only hold value if they remain secret.

That’s why trade secret protection is so important in business. If you can’t protect your trade secrets, then you’ll lose many of your competitive advantages in the marketplace.

Trade Secret Examples

There are many types of trade secrets. Examples include your computer programs, customer lists, manufacturing processes, recipes, data models, vendor contracts, new product development communications, and research information. The list goes on and on and varies from one company to the next.

Think of it this way—Coca-Cola has been protecting the recipe for its flagship product for a very long time. It’s one of the best kept trade secrets in history. Imagine if that secret recipe was leaked. It wouldn’t take long for Coca-Cola to lose some of its competitive advantage.

The same could be said of Apple’s product development information or Google’s search algorithm. If those highly proprietary trade secrets got out to the public, both companies would suffer.

The Risks of Leaked Trade Secrets

When trade secrets are leaked, the negative effects to your business can be immediate and long-lasting. In fact, those negative effects could be disastrous. Not only could you lose sales, you could also lose consumer trust.

And if you haven’t gone to market yet, you might never get the chance if your secrets get out before your products or services do.

How to Protect Your Trade Secrets

Protecting your trade secrets starts by identifying them. You need to be able to describe your trade secrets and educate employees, vendors, and business partners about what information must be held in secret. You also need to put the right processes in place to ensure there is as little chance as possible for your trade secrets to get out.

This begins with implementing the right physical security measures such as systems security, file drawers that lock, limiting access to certain rooms or buildings through electronic access controls, marking all communications that contain sensitive information as proprietary, and ensuring all employees understand their roles in protecting trade secrets.

Employee training is critical because they could leak trade secrets on purpose and with malice, or they could accidentally leak trade secrets. Either way, your business will pay the price, but if you never trained your employees on how to protect sensitive information, the law won’t provide you much help after the fact.

Develop a pro-intellectual property (pro-IP) company culture where every employee, from the top down, understands what your company’s trade secrets are and why protecting those secrets is so important. Of course, only give employees specific details about individual trade secrets when the information is essential to their job functions. If you can’t hold information closely within your company’s four walls, there is little chance that you can keep that information secret beyond your four walls.

Many companies attain great success based primarily on the strength and value of their trade secrets. However, those trade secrets would be worthless if they weren’t protected vigilantly. If you want your trade secrets to grow in value and support your business growth, then you must identify them and develop the necessary procedures and policies to keep them secure. Put a comprehensive trade secret protection program in place as soon as possible so your business isn’t at risk!

About Kelley Keller

Kelley Keller, Esq. is an intellectual property (IP) attorney, speaker, and educator with two decades of experience in the IP field. She works with individuals and businesses in a wide variety of industries helping them transform their ideas, knowledge, and innovation into valuable business assets that drive profits. Kelley offers education to established businesses, startups, entrepreneurs, corporate executives, non-profits, government agencies, legal professionals, and students about starting and growing a business as well as about IP, social media law, and the importance of protecting valuable brand assets and creative work.

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What People are Saying about Kelley Keller

Lisa Frederiksen | Author, Speaker, Trainer, Consultant at BreakingTheCycles.com

Kelley works differently. After an initial phone conversation (I live in CA and she's in PA), she drafted a scope of work for both efforts and set a flat fee which included (and still includes) the back and forth conversations a client needs in order to get the best results. She is extremely knowledgeable and truly able to "hear" what I'm after and create meaningful legal documents and advice that have helped me immeasurably. I highly recommend Kelley Keller.
2016-04-23T10:27:42+00:00
Kelley works differently. After an initial phone conversation (I live in CA and she's in PA), she drafted a scope of work for both efforts and set a flat fee which included (and still includes) the back and forth conversations a client needs in order to get the best results. She is extremely knowledgeable and truly able to "hear" what I'm after and create meaningful legal documents and advice that have helped me immeasurably. I highly recommend Kelley Keller.
http://kelleykeller.com/testimonials/lisa-frederiksen/

Kelly Phillips Erb | Senior Editor at Forbes

Kelley was able to explain complicated legal issues in a manner that was easy to understand without being patronizing. She was also great at talking me down from ledges - it was easy to get worked up when opposing parties weren't being cooperative but Kelley advised me to trust in the process and she was right.

Kelley explained my costs and options, as well as the pros and cons of each. She also kept me informed about my matter, letting me know what I needed to do at the appropriate time. All in all, I felt very involved in the process without being overwhelmed. Kelley made a wildly stressful situation so much better. I would highly recommend her services.
2016-04-23T10:42:43+00:00
Kelley was able to explain complicated legal issues in a manner that was easy to understand without being patronizing. She was also great at talking me down from ledges - it was easy to get worked up when opposing parties weren't being cooperative but Kelley advised me to trust in the process and she was right. Kelley explained my costs and options, as well as the pros and cons of each. She also kept me informed about my matter, letting me know what I needed to do at the appropriate time. All in all, I felt very involved in the process without being overwhelmed. Kelley made a wildly stressful situation so much better. I would highly recommend her services.
http://kelleykeller.com/testimonials/kelly-phillips-erb-senior-editor-forbes/

Charlotte Avery | CEO at Being Charlotte Avery

Words cannot express how much I appreciate Kelley Keller. She has helped me and my business on so many levels. Whenever I have a question I always know that I can call her and she will give me the best advice/counsel. I know that my business is in good hands with Kelley.

Kelley, THANK YOU for EVERYTHING!!!
2016-04-23T10:46:03+00:00
Words cannot express how much I appreciate Kelley Keller. She has helped me and my business on so many levels. Whenever I have a question I always know that I can call her and she will give me the best advice/counsel. I know that my business is in good hands with Kelley. Kelley, THANK YOU for EVERYTHING!!!
http://kelleykeller.com/testimonials/charlotte-avery-ceo-charlotte-avery/

Ruth Koup | Founder of Suits to Careers, Inc., Dress for Success South Central PA & Tied to Success

Kelley Clements Keller, Esq has been a huge support to the launch of our new umbrella organization, Suits to Careers, Inc. and the branding and trademarking of our men's program, Tied to Success. We could not have navigated this transition without her support. Many thanks.
2016-04-23T10:49:27+00:00
Kelley Clements Keller, Esq has been a huge support to the launch of our new umbrella organization, Suits to Careers, Inc. and the branding and trademarking of our men's program, Tied to Success. We could not have navigated this transition without her support. Many thanks.
http://kelleykeller.com/testimonials/ruth-koup/

Matt Bloom | Founder & CEO of CRIMEWATCH Technologies, Inc.

Kelley is an exceptional IP attorney. She understands the legal nuances facing start-ups and is willing to work within those restrictions. Kelley is casual and easy to work with, but when it comes to legal action she is aggressive and takes charge. She has successfully helped us secure coexistence agreements and trademarks for our business. Here expertise has added exponential value to the technology we have built and I would highly recommend her to anyone seeking IP representation.
2016-04-23T10:53:29+00:00
Kelley is an exceptional IP attorney. She understands the legal nuances facing start-ups and is willing to work within those restrictions. Kelley is casual and easy to work with, but when it comes to legal action she is aggressive and takes charge. She has successfully helped us secure coexistence agreements and trademarks for our business. Here expertise has added exponential value to the technology we have built and I would highly recommend her to anyone seeking IP representation.
http://kelleykeller.com/testimonials/matt-bloom-founder-ceo-crimewatch-technologies-inc/

Zachary Ziegler | Brewmaster at Molly Pitcher Brewing Company

Kelley is not only extremely knowledgeable in the realm of intellectual property, but she made the whole process fun! It's not often you hear fun and legal work in the same sentence but Kelley's personality eased my worries while keeping me upbeat the whole time. She explained the entire process in language I could understand and kept me updated continuously. I would not hesitate to work with her again or refer her to my friends and family.
2016-04-23T10:54:48+00:00
Kelley is not only extremely knowledgeable in the realm of intellectual property, but she made the whole process fun! It's not often you hear fun and legal work in the same sentence but Kelley's personality eased my worries while keeping me upbeat the whole time. She explained the entire process in language I could understand and kept me updated continuously. I would not hesitate to work with her again or refer her to my friends and family.
http://kelleykeller.com/testimonials/zachary-ziegler-brewmaster-molly-pitcher-brewing-company/
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