Irvine Trade Secret Protection Lawyer

Irvine Trade Secret Protection Attorney

Starting or operating a business is no simple feat, and the last thing you want to worry about is your trade secrets being stolen or misappropriated. Whether you are a small or large business or a company just getting off the ground, simply trying to protect your business interests, an Irvine trade secret protection lawyer can help you with current misappropriations or help to secure your trade secrets for years to come.

Trade secret protection can protect any reasonable information, data, or technology that could create economic value for an individual or business from becoming public knowledge. These protections help keep competition low while you focus on growing your endeavors.

Who We Are

At The Kinder Law Group, our goal is to protect your brand, business, and reputation. We handle trade secret protection cases that span industries as well as over 120 countries, and we can assist with a variety of business-related cases, including those involving the following:

• Trademark
• Copyright
• Patent applications
• Trade secret protection
• Licensing
• Publicity, domain, and advertising disputes

Located in Southern California and proudly serving the Irvine area, we have won cases against newsworthy clients and stacked law firms. We understand the stress that comes with following your passions and achieving your goals; do not let the confusion of trade secret protection laws slow you down.

The Kinder Law Group can get results when it comes to your intellectual property and trade secrets. Our personalized services are curated for your unique business without going over your budget. Unlike firms that handle a multitude of legal matters, we are focused on intellectual property and can provide our knowledge clearly and accessibly in a timely manner so you can focus on what is most important – you and your company’s success.

What Is a Trade Secret?

A trade secret is any valuable information or practice within a company that would threaten the success of the company if its competitors learned of it. Trade secrets exist in almost every industry; some examples are:

• Processes that allow your business to run in a more cost-effective way
• An ingredient that makes your product taste better than the competition
• Internal research results concerning business practices or products

Trade secret protection laws exist to protect businesses and their owners’ trade secrets, thus preserving their economic success. While not all business practices are considered trade secrets, the general criteria to determine if a practice does qualify are as follows:

• The information is not commonly known within the specific industry.
• The secrecy of the information is what makes it valuable.
• The information is kept secret by reasonable steps, such as an NDA.

Because trade secret protection cases can occur in almost any industry, it can sometimes be difficult to understand if your case is sound. Commonly, trade secret protection cases involve current or former employees or a close contact to a company, such as a business partner, being accused of theft of a trade secret.

Trade Secret Protection Laws

In 1996, the United States federal government passed the Economic Espionage Act, and it was amended 20 years later with the Defend Trade Secrets Act. Both of these acts protect and expand access to federal courts in civil cases involving trade secret protection. While civil cases involving trade secret protections can be held at the state or federal level thanks to these acts, criminal cases involving trade secrets are prosecuted only at the federal level.

In California, trade secret laws are defined under Civil Code 3426, the Uniform Trade Secrets Act. The law defines the misappropriation of trade secrets as the acquisition of information by a person who knows or has reason to know that the information was obtained through improper means or without consent.

Between 2021 and 2023, California courts saw the highest number of trade secret litigation cases in the country. This is partially due to California’s strict prohibition on noncompete agreements, which makes it easier for employees to find opportunities and move around within an industry, but could also leave more grey area when it comes to trade secrets.

This is why it is vital that you protect your trade secrets before issues arise and, if they do, you hire an experienced Irvine trade secret protection attorney.

Protecting Your Trade Secrets in Irvine

The most effective way to protect your business, regardless of the industry, and yourself is through the use of NDA’s and other confidentiality agreements. These legal agreements allow the court to see that proper measures were taken by the business prior to the theft. The better you protect yourself and your business before an incident, the easier it is to prove your case.

Information and practices that are not protected under trade secret protection law include:

• Information that is generally known
• Information that is already commonly known within the specific industry
• Publicly published studies, marketing, or patents
• Information given without an NDA
• Information or practices that are easily accessible or discoverable

Common trade secret laws protect information and practices, similar to how a patent protects inventions. One of the more infamous trade secret cases involves the ingredients in Coca-Cola, the “information” in this case being the recipe for the soda.

While there are many famous recipes that fall under trade secret protection law, these laws also cover information and practices in technology, science, business, commercial, and financial sectors.

Trade secret protection laws can even protect information and practices that did not work for you or your business, keeping failed tests, efforts, and research under the protection of your intellectual property.

Hire a Trade Secret Protection Lawyer in Irvine, CA

If your trade secret has been stolen, hire a trade secret protection lawyer today. Our legal team can work with you to compile and present the evidence of theft for your case. Cases in Irvine, California, are typically handled through the California Superior Court for Orange County.

At The Kinder Law Group, our team of qualified attorneys can work to protect what is yours. Contact our firm today to schedule a consultation at our main office right here in Irvine so that your business can continue thriving tomorrow.