Intellectual Property: Trade Secrets in Provo, Utah
Business owners are often vested in hiding sensitive information in order to hold an advantage over their competitors. This is why we see many business entities opting to use confidentiality agreements, intellectual property protection, and trade secrets for their creations.
With the complexity of these specialty areas, it takes a local attorney who knows the ins and outs of this field of law. If you’re interested in seeking consultation in this field, contact our Utah business litigation attorney at Howard Lewis & Petersen.
What Are Trade Secrets?
In Provo business litigation, a trade secret is a company practice that is private from the public. When a trade secret goes public, this can result in financial ruination or reputational damage.
It’s common practice for the development of a product or service to be kept secret. For example, an author might develop a specific process for writing a novel that he or she wants kept secret.
You can expect to find trade secret protection over computer programs, databases, business plans, and marketing strategies. Manufacturers, designers, and product developers also have a strong interest in keeping their information a secret.
Provo Intellectual Property Attorneys
Intellectual property (IP) is a legally protected concept that refers to the creations of the mind. This could be literary, artistic, musical, or educational material. Litigation over trade secret protection will often crossover into intellectual property rights.
Businesses and corporations can sue over violations of intellectual property, including the unlawful use or distribution of someone’s creative work — because IP owners and associates often rely on their intellectual property for income and asset building, many business owners hide intellectual property development through trade secrets.
How to Protect Your Trade Secrets and Intellectual Property
As a business owner based in Provo, Utah, you’ll need a Provo trade secrets attorney to do thorough research into these matters.
Those who wish to protect a piece of intellectual property should register it with the right organizations, like the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). This helps in the event of a lawsuit, making it easier for intellectual property owners and business entities to sue someone who’s committing infringement or sharing trade secrets about their property.
If necessary, an owner can also create confidentiality contracts or nondisclosure agreements – also known as NDAs – to sign with people to share information. This helps to establish better confidentiality around the trade secrets that a business has.
In the event of a violation of intellectual property rights or trade secret sharing, a business attorney Provo can help by holding the violator legally responsible in the court of law.
What Should a Confidentiality Agreement State
To protect sensitive information about a business or property, you can hire the right Provo lawyers to draft nondisclosure agreements or confidentiality contracts for employees or contractors that work with your organization.
NDAs and confidentiality agreements can be tricky to develop, and it’s usually the goal of the drafter to design an agreement that’s fair for all of the involved parties. A decent agreement should clearly state all of the terms involved, including what information is secret and the responsibilities of each party.
The contract should also go over the standards for handling information, patent rights, how the conditions change under a merger, and any compensatory consequences for breaking the contract.
How a Utah Business Litigation Attorney Helps
An attorney should be able to provide legal counsel for matters dealing with trade secrets and intellectual property.
During a counseling session, you can ask your Provo lawyers questions about how to register your IP in the state of Utah or ask about the options available for keeping a trade secret under wraps.
If a party has broken a legally binding agreement, then the next step would be to take the issue to court based on the created contractual agreement.
Hiring a Business Litigation Attorney Provo
At Howard Lewis & Petersen, our Provo trade secrets attorney represents those who deal in intellectual property rights and trade secrets.
To get started with our Utah-based services, contact the firm at 385-247-2726 for more information.
