What should we be doing to protect our trade secret information, particularly now that so many of our employees are working remotely?

Maintaining the secrecy of your company’s trade secret information can be challenging in a remote work environment. Remote employees are accessing and using trade secret information outside the secure four walls of their company office and often using personal devices to do so. With that in mind, consider the following strategies for protecting your company’s valuable proprietary information:

First, actually mark confidential information as confidential! And limit access to trade secret information to those with a “need to know” based on their job responsibilities. Also require unique usernames and complex passwords to protect and monitor access to your trade secret information.

Second, and particularly with remote workers, implement policies for remote access and data encryption. For example, prohibit the use of public wifi; require use of a secure VPN for remote access; and prohibit sending company information to and from personal email addresses or cloud storage accounts. If your organization permits the use of personal devices, make sure you have a BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) policy that restricts the use and disclosure of the company’s data. Memorialize your policies in writing, and train employees on those policies. Take affirmative steps to limit and monitor what is downloaded and sent outside the company.

Third, have employees, and vendors where appropriate, sign agreements with non-disclosure, conflict of interest, invention assignment, notice, and return of property provisions, taking care to ensure that these agreements are tailored and compliant with applicable law. In addition, when an employee resigns, conduct an exit interview and ask the employee to sign an attestation affirming they have returned all Company confidential information.

Finally, implement a process to conduct regular audits of your policies and procedures for trade secret protection.

For more information on strategies to safeguard your company’s valuable proprietary information and maintain your competitive edge, please reach out to your Littler attorney.