The misappropriation of trade secrets can cause significant harm to your business, and it is important to know your rights as an employer. You should understand clearly what constitutes a trade secret that can be protected, how you can take steps to protect your business’s trade secrets, and how you can file a claim for trade secret misappropriation when it occurs. The following are five things to know about trade secrets and protecting your New Mexico business.
1. Understand What Constitutes a Trade Secret
In Santa Fe, the New Mexico Uniform Trade Secrets Act defines a trade secret that you may be able to take steps to protect.
Under the Act, a trade secret is “information, including a formula, pattern, compilation, program, device, method, technique, or process that . . . services independent economic value, actual or potential, from not being generally known to and not being readily ascertainable by property means by other persons who can obtain economic value from its disclosure or use; and is the subject of efforts that are reasonable under the circumstances to maintain its secrecy.”
2. Document Your Business’s Trade Secrets
To protect your trade secrets, you should document them. While you might be concerned that documented trade secrets are more likely to be misappropriated, documenting them will clarify that they were created and being used by your business.
3. Create Employee Procedures to Protect Trade Secrets
You can also protect trade secrets by establishing procedures concerning new, existing, and departing employees. Your workers should be required to acknowledge your trade secret policy and to sign a confidentiality agreement.
4. Establish Agreements with Independent Contractors
You can also require independent contractors to sign a confidentiality agreement, and you should likely do so.
5. Know How to File a Misappropriation Claim
Under the Act, you may be able to file a trade secret misappropriation claim if a current or former worker, or another party, misappropriated trade secrets of your business. What is misappropriation? The Act defines it as follows:
- Acquisition of a trade secret of another by a person who knows or has reason to know that the trade secret was acquired by improper means; or
- Disclosure or use of a trade secret of another without express or implied consent (when the person disclosing the trade secret used improper means to acquire it, knew or had reason to know it was derived or acquired improperly, or knew or had reason to know that it was acquired by accident or mistake).
To file a misappropriation claim, you will need to be able to prove misappropriation based on the definition cited above. In addition, you will need to file your claim before the statute of limitations runs out. Under the Act, most misappropriation claims must be brought within three years from the date that you discovered the misappropriation, or that you should have discovered the misappropriation through reasonable diligence. A business litigation attorney can provide you with more information about filing a misappropriation lawsuit.
Contact a Santa Fe Business Litigation Lawyer
If you have questions about filing a trade secret misappropriation claim, you should seek advice from one of our Santa Fe business litigation attorneys as soon as you can. Contact Slate Stern Law today.