We are pleased to let you know that the webinar “Protecting Trade Secrets: The Current Landscape, Top Threats, Best Practices for Assessing and Protecting Trade Secrets, Proposed Legislation and Future Scenarios” is now available as a podcast and webinar recording.

Robert B. Milligan, partner and co-chair of Seyfarth Shaw’s Trade Secrets, Computer Fraud & Non-Competes practice group, Daniel Hart associate in Seyfarth’s Atlanta office and member of the Trade Secrets, Computer Fraud & Non-Competes practice group along with the Center for Responsible Enterprise and Trade, CREATe.org’s CEO Pamela Passman and Marissa Michel, Director in PriceWaterhouseCoopers’ Forensic Services Group took a rigorous look at the issue or trade secret theft and discussed insights from a recent PwC – CREATe.org report: Economic Impact of Trade Secret Theft: A framework for companies to safeguard trade secrets and mitigate potential threats.

As a conclusion to this well-received webinar, we compiled a list of key takeaway points, which are listed below.

  • Theft of trade secrets poses a substantial threat to companies throughout the world and will likely remain a significant challenge in the next 10-15 years as companies face increasing threats from competitors, malicious insiders, nation states, transnational organized crime, and hacktivists.
  • Companies should carefully assess their existing trade secrets portfolio and the steps needed to protect their trade secrets by following a detailed and comprehensive 5-step framework: (1) identifying their trade secrets, (2) assessing the threats to their trade secrets portfolio and possible exposures, (3) analyzing the relative priorities of their trade secrets to assess which trade secrets require the highest level of protection, (4) assessing the likely economic impact that would be caused by a theft of trade secrets, and (5) secure the trade secrets portfolio by implementing a management system (including policies, protocols, training, and other measures across the organization).
  • Effective protection of trade secrets requires a coordinated and deliberative effort across all business units in a company, including IT, HR, legal, and other business leaders.  The only way to effectively protect a company’s trade secrets portfolio is to carefully analyze the threats to the company’s trade secrets and thoughtfully develop a comprehensive and customized strategy with buy-in from all stakeholders across the organization.

Please join us for our next webinar on October 28, How and Why California is Different When it Comes to Trade Secrets and Non-Competes