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The Trade Secret Office, Inc. has developed a technology to address the issues of existence, access and notice in trade secret litigation. Embodied in the Trade Secret Examiner® software product, this business method assists counsel in the preparation of a strong infringement case, and increases the probability of success in litigation.
The Trade Secret Office® business method includes the following processes:
1) Captures information about the six factors of a trade secret for each trade secret in the portfolio, and calculates from the six factors a defendability factor for each trade secret. The defendability factor documents the relative probability of the trade secret passing the existence test in court.
2) In particular, captures information about the security measures used to protect the trade secret.
3) Captures information about where and when the trade secret information is created, stored, used and accessed, both by physical location and by location in the organization chart.
4) Captures information about where and when employees, vendors and customers have had access within the company, both by physical location and by location in the organization chart.
5) Captures information about confidentiality agreements and reminders to employees, vendors and customers.
6) Captures other information about each trade secret, including value, appreciation/depreciation, and discovery status in litigation.
The Trade Secret Office® business method further builds on these processes to provide the following assistance to counsel:
1) Generates a listing of all trade secrets to which an employee had access during the term of employment, to assist giving proper notice during exit interviews.
2) Generates a listing of all trade secrets to which any group of employees had access during the term of employment, to assist preparation of the allegation and provide proof of access.
3) Sorts this list by defendability factor to provide a prioritized list of trade secrets at risk, ordered by the relative probability of the trade secret passing the existence test in court, to assist selecting the strongest trade secrets for litigation.
4) Generates a detailed report on each trade secret at risk, to assist a quick response to defendant's demand to specify the infringement with particularity and specificity.
5) Provides an aggregate valuation of the entire portfolio of trade secrets at risk, to assist in specifying damages.
6) Provides proof, in the form of a Trade Secret Certificate® registration issued by an independent third party, that the documentation of the trade secret was done prior to litigation, to counter arguments of legal harassment.
US and international patents are pending on The Trade Secret Office® business method.
The Trade Secret Office, Inc. ®