Peter Koclanes & Nick DeWeese

Today it is more important than ever to ensure you, your company, and your business assets are fully protected from the inside out. If not, it could mean losing everything. Here’s a list of items to consider when reviewing your protections.

• Review your company’s business agreements, including confidentiality and trade secret provisions, restrictive covenants regarding competition, as well as solicitation of employees and personnel, and of customers and business opportunities.
• Secure trademarks, copyrights, patents, and other intellectual property rights relating to your business and the methods in which you conduct your business.
• Consider your company’s proprietary and confidential business information, as well as other information it creates, compiles, or assembles in the course of its business in ways that are valuable and secret enough to afford an actual or potential economic advantage over others. It may constitute a protectable trade secret.
• Secure, maintain, and restrict access to your company’s proprietary and confidential business information and be mindful with whom you share such information. If within your own company, ensure such information is shared only on a need-to-know basis.  If shared externally, be mindful that an opposing party in any dispute will argue you have chosen to make such information publicly available or available to third parties.
• Develop and enforce access and security policies within your company, including educating your employees and other personnel about such policies and the company’s expectations. Among others, prepare or improve your cybersecurity and data privacy policies and corporate practices.
• Be vigilant and take affirmative steps, including sending demand letters and pursuing legal action, when necessary, to enforce your company’s rights, which may be deemed waived if you do not do so.

Protecting your business with these steps may make the difference between financial ruin and winning a case in court. To ensure you have these in place or to review, assess, and evaluate your current contracts, situation, and circumstances, contact Peter Koclanes or your Sherman & Howard attorney for next steps.