Confidentiality and Protecting Trade Secrets and Know-How
In developing a novel or improved product, service or process, much information may be generated which is of a confidential nature or is otherwise valuable to your business. There may be circumstances which require you to disclose some or all of this information to another person. If so, the law can be useful in its protection against disclosure or misuse by the recipient.
Maintenance of confidentiality is particularly critical if you later intend to apply for a patent or registered design. Disclosure of the invention or design to anyone who does not owe you an obligation of confidentiality can fatally damage your chance of registration.
The pages below will assist you in how to define and document confidential information for disclosure so that the recipient must keep it confidential. These pages cover trade secrets and know-how, and how to deal with infringement of agreed confidential information.
- Confidential Information, Contractors and Trading Partners
- Confidential Information and Employees
- What to do if Confidentiality has been breached?