Protect Your Business and Trade Secrets
Do you know how safe your trade secrets are? According to the Department of Commerce, theft of intellectual property (IP) costs businesses in the U.S. approximately $250 billion every year. Even larger corporations are no strangers to IP theft. In 2006, Federal agents arrested and charged an employee of the Coca-Cola Company and two others with “stealing trade secrets and wire fraud.” According to authorities, the perpetrators tried to sell “highly classified” information to Coca-Cola’s rival competitor PepsiCo for $1.5 million.
The statistics and headlines have proven that trade secrets are, in fact, a commodity that can be compromised at any time. Of course, there are plenty of ways that companies can protect themselves from these heinous acts, and with a bit of diligence and extra precaution, this risk can be mitigated.
The first step to protecting yourself is to know your trade secrets. Identify them so you can properly protect them, whether it’s a customer list, product pricing, product designs, formulas, even production procedures. If it’s a trade secret, don’t approach it lightly. Treat your IP with the utmost care; if you keep trade secrets in a specific location of your place of business, be sure there is limited access and only grant access to employees who need to be in the know.
Speaking of employees, when you deal with IP, be sure to hire smart. What does that mean? Consider potential staff’s employment history. Did they honor previous employer’s confidentiality agreements? Are they litigious? Are they against signing a non-disclosure agreement with you? Look for any and all red flags that might open you up to problems in the future.
Of course, using confidentiality agreements are a great way to safeguard your trade secrets. Confidential information disclosed in a confidentiality agreement might pertain to scientific research results and data, chemical compositions and formulas, software development information, recipes, laboratory methodology, and other trade secrets. Well-crafted confidentiality agreements provide businesses with legal and equitable remedies for improper disclosure or use of proprietary information.
If any of your trade secrets or IP is on paper, ensure that all documents are marked confidential. Keep circulation of said documents to those that are on a need-to-know basis.
If you no longer need these private documents, you should consider hiring a professional document destruction company that can safely and securely shred any and all proprietary information, with no risk of any of your private information falling into the wrong hands. At the top of the list as a benefit for using a secure shredding service is the peace of mind that comes with getting it done the right way. It’s a great feeling to know you’re being proactive in keeping yourself and your customers protected.
Keep your trade secrets safe with secure mobile shredding by NAID AAA certified professionals like Legal Shred. We offer secure shredding for residential and commercial customers at affordable rates. Contact us for a quote today.