Trade Secrets
At Miller Nash, we represent businesses and individuals in the high-stakes, fast-paced world of trade secret protection. Our trade secret clients span a wide range of industries, including technology, professional services, entertainment, media, energy associations, financial services, communications, and manufacturing, among others. From Fortune 100 companies to startups, we’ve assisted with disputes, trade secret misappropriation, unfair competition, and advice to prevent the loss of proprietary information.
The creation, protection, and dissemination of trade secrets is governed by various state and federal laws. The following are just a few examples of the types of information that may be considered legally protected trade secrets: customer and potential customer data; marketing plans; special pricing data; financial data; algorithms and source code; internal development strategies; metrics and analytics; formulas and recipes; product development information; and manufacturing processes.
Employee Mobility
We help employers and employees during the hiring and separation process, and oversee assessments to help mitigate risks, prevent intellectual property theft, and to ensure a smooth and compliant employment transition. Our clients look to us to assist with preventing missteps regarding their confidential information. We guide them as they negotiate non-competition, non-solicitation, and non-disclosure agreements, and help them resolve related disputes.
Litigation
We are often brought in during the crucial early stages of a trade secret dispute, when speed is essential. Whether moving quickly to lock down evidence and prevent further damage through temporary restraining orders, seizure orders or preliminary injunctions, or taking a more deliberate but equally aggressive approach to addressing meritless claims of trade secret misappropriation, we are there to help. Our attorneys prepare nondisclosure and intellectual property-ownership agreements for employees and others to assure compliance, for example, with the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016. If litigation ensues, we can advise on the advantages of suing in state or federal court.
Audit
Because of our depth of experience in litigating trade secret disputes, our clients also look to us for advice on how to identify and protect their valuable trade secrets, how to prevent missteps with confidential information, and how to leverage trade secret information for maximum economic value. On this front, we assist clients with developing training and audit programs to protect technical and non-technical proprietary business information.