Michigan Law Protects Business Trade Secrets
Intellectual property law protects a business's trade secrets. Private information that gives a company an advantage over its competitors is called a trade secret. For example, customer lists, formulas, manufacturing processes, cost information, sources of supply, market studies, and compilations of financial data may be trade secrets. Michigan law protects trade secrets against infringement. A business may be able to obtain damages or an injunction if a competitor or ex-employee steals trade secrets from the company.
Management should take several steps to protect a business's trade secrets. First, all employees should be required to sign a non-disclosure agreement. The best time to obtain such agreements is at hiring, although they can be enforceable if required at a later time. When an employee leaves, he or she should be required to return of all company documents containing trade secrets, such as customer lists and manuals. At such time, the employee should also be reminded not to violate the confidentiality obligations in his or her non-disclosure agreement.
Another important step is to control access to documents containing trade secrets to prevent “leaks." A list of the documents should be prepared and both the list and the documents should be kept in locked cabinets with access limited to authorized personnel.
To protect against inadvertent disclosure to outsiders, employees should be required to obtain approval of their supervisors before publishing articles or giving speeches that might include unintended disclosure of trade secrets. Also, visitors and tours of a company's offices and plants should be restricted so that outsiders do not obtain access to areas where trade secrets might be discovered. In addition, information given to suppliers, customers and consultants should be protected by requiring them to sign non-disclosure agreements.
Sound legal counsel can assist a management prepare agreements, forms and procedures to preserve a company’s trade secrets.
