Trade Secrets - Best Practices: Remote Work Considerations and Intellectual Property Incentive Programs (IPIP)
Two years have passed since the global workforce began shifting to remote work, a shift that should have companies considering taking additional precautions to protect valuable trade secrets and proprietary information. Such steps may reduce the chances of theft of trade secrets during remote work. They may also serve to position companies to continue to keep their information protected by trade secret laws through taking “reasonable efforts” to ensure the information remains “secret.” However, courts operating with the benefit of hindsight after this crisis have concluded that the surprise transition to and rapid expansion of remote workers are not valid excuses for not having proper protocols in place.
The Master Class will provide case studies regarding protecting trade secrets – including recent U.S. trade secrets litigation – what went wrong and how to avoid these pitfalls. From these case studies, best practices programs will be explored.
There is, however, more to the story, as trade secret best practice programs appear to be contradictory to typical Intellectual Property Incentive Programs. The Master course will explore how to align these two programs:
Facilitating recruitment and retention of the best talent by fostering and promoting a culture of innovation and knowledge;
Promoting the company’s reputation, image, and vision as an innovative company;
Aligning the speed of innovation with industry trends;
Protecting investment and competitive edge; and
Generating new revenue streams by monetizing IP rights through licensing or as add-on value.
Faculty:
Barry Schindler: With over 30 years of experience in handling all aspects of patent prosecution and IP protection, Barry is the Co-Chair of Greenberg Traurig's Global Patent Prosecution Group, which handles 1,600 domestic and foreign applications per year.