Trade Secrets: Protecting Recipes For Success
KFC. Coca-Cola. Pepsi. What do these companies have in common? Their success depends largely on a secret recipe or formula. If your business is built upon such a recipe or formula, then you may have considered protecting your information as a trade secret.
In Florida, the Florida Uniform Trade Secrets Act governs trade secrets. A trade secret is defined as information that is subject to efforts to maintain secrecy and derives value from not being generally known to other persons who could obtain value with it. See my advice for trade secret holders, in the Jacksonville Business Journal.
As mentioned earlier, a trade secret offers legal protection such as damages or an injunction. Unlike trademarks or patents, trade secret protection does not require a formal registration. To gain protection, you must generally follow three guidelines: the information cannot be generally known to the public, the information must be valuable to your business, and finally, you must take reasonable measurements to protect the secrecy of the information. Your trade secret may last as long as you protect it.
Want more information about protecting your trade secrets? Contact me, and I will be happy to give you a consultation.
