Five Tips For Employers To Protect Their Trade Secrets

Atlanta attorney Michael Elkon provided insight into the importance of having new employees sign non-compete agreements in the February 26 Law360 article “5 Tips For Employers To Protect Their Trade Secrets.” The article cited the recent unveiling of a White House-led strategy for keeping America's business trade secrets from falling into the wrong hands and noted that this is the time for employers to review their own measures for protecting valuable company information.  Michael said that once new hires come on board, requiring them to sign restrictive covenants, such as nondisclosure or non-compete agreements, is one way of shoring up a company's legal standing if trade secret information is lost or stolen. He cautioned, however, that with such agreements, especially non-compete provisions, it's often necessary to pay close attention to the applicable local employment law, which varies significantly by state.