AIPLA Trade Secrets Conference: Cybersecurity & Protecting Trade Secrets I always attend the AIPLA's annual Trade Secret Law Summit, where cutting edge trade secret law issues are discussed. I always come away with a plethora of valuable insights from these conferences. The following are a few takeaways from the conference in San Diego:

For Starters: A good legal advisor will counsel his or her clients to implement appropriate measures to protect company trade secrets. There are lots of steps companies can take, but the following "motto" is a simple and catchy way to help companies think about how to protect their trade secrets: "State it, Stamp it, Secure it, Shred it, Sign it, Supplement it, and Substantiate it." A shout-out to Russell Beck and Hannah Joseph with Beck Reed Riden in Boston for coming up with this useful motto!

Number Two: Creating a formal inventory of a company's trade secrets as part of a trade secret protection plan can be more complicated than meets the eyes. Outside counsel, in-house counsel and business decision-makers should be involved in deciding whether this step is appropriate.

Number Three: There continues to be increasing academic attention to the issues of employee mobility and the use of non-competes. Views are mixed on whether the research shows if non-competes are good or bad for business and economic growth. If you are interested in this topic, e-mail me and I can send you lots of interesting reading material.

Number Four: Draft restrictive covenant agreements and policies as if a jury will read them. When the jury is deliberating, they won't be able to listen to your argument again, but they will get to review the contract you are trying to enforce over and over.

And Lastly: Cybersecurity alert: Companies, including law firms, must maintain ongoing processes for evaluating risk in an IT environment. And don't use your mother's maiden name as a security password. Sophisticated hackers can easily find that information.

More information is available at my blog at www.bfvlaw.com

As always, please let me know if I can help.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.