By: Brian D. Boreman
Information such as customer lists, pricing formulas, product development, and business plans are often the most valuable assets of a company. The unwanted dissemination of any such information by a prior employee could devastate a company’s ability to compete in the marketplace. Although Pennsylvania laws, such as the Uniform Trade Secrets Act, preclude the misappropriation of a company’s trade secrets in certain situations, every company must be proactive about protecting its proprietary information. In this regard, any employee who is privy to confidential information should be required to sign a confidentiality agreement. The confidentiality agreement should identify, among other things, the scope of information that the company considers confidential and the employee’s obligations, both during and after the employee’s term of employment, to protect this information from disclosure. A confidentiality agreement alone, however, is not sufficient to adequately protect a company’s interests. A company must also develop security measures and workplace policies to protect its proprietary information from disclosure.
To help protect your company’s confidential information from unwanted disclosure, or for any other employment-related issues, please contact Brian D. Boreman.
