Why Protecting Your Business’s Trade Secrets is Crucial
Natalia Riazanova
Key points
- A trade secret is technical, technological, organizational or other business information that has economic value because it isn’t generally known, and that the owner takes steps to keep confidential.
- Acquiring a trade secret illegally includes copying company documents or files without permission and breaking a confidentiality or non-compete agreement.
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- Common examples are customer lists, pricing and marketing strategies, deal prices, market research results, sales plans and the advertising budget.
- Information the owner never protected is not a trade secret, and neither is data from public registers, publications or publicly available documents.
Trade secrets are a vital part of keeping any company’s sensitive information safe. They’re closely linked to gaining a competitive edge, so every business owner should focus on preventing data breaches and minimizing the risk of leaks.
Trade Secrets – What Are They Exactly?
Legally speaking, a trade secret is technical, technological, organizational, or other business information that has economic value precisely because it’s not generally known.
This information is typically known only to a select group of people who work with it, and the business owner has taken steps to keep it confidential. It’s important that all these conditions are met for information to qualify as a trade secret.
According to the rules, acquiring trade secrets illegally includes actions like:
- Unlawfully taking or copying documents, items, or files belonging to the company without permission.
- Breaking a confidentiality or non-compete agreement.
- Violating any other type of agreement that requires confidentiality.
What are Some Examples of Trade Secrets?
It’s good to know that trade secrets can vary across different industries depending on a company’s specific profile. However, common examples include:
- Customer lists.
- Employee salary details.
- Corporate strategies – like marketing campaign plans or pricing strategies.
- Deal prices and price lists.
- Market research results.
- Sales forecasts and plans.
- The size of the advertising budget, and so on.
Interestingly, the content of invoices or payment confirmations isn’t automatically a trade secret, as this information might be accessible elsewhere. However, they can become trade secrets if revealing them could harm a contractor economically.
What Isn’t Considered a Trade Secret?
This includes information that the business owner hasn’t taken any steps to protect. Think data found in public registers, publications, publicly available documents (like financial reports or product marketing certificates), or information shared at conferences and symposiums.
How Can You Prevent Trade Secret Theft?
Businesses need to take appropriate measures to keep their information confidential. Various tools can help protect data and minimize the risk of it falling into the wrong hands. This provides solid protection against negative consequences, such as losing your market position due to a leak of sensitive data.