The third part of our five part article looks briefly at how an intangible asset, like a secret, can be proven and we list some examples.

HOW TO PROTECT COMPANY INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL SECRETS- part 3

4.- HOW TO PROVE INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL SECRETS

When people or companies don’t comply with their obligations the business owner has to protect his business secrets in Court. During the process the Judge will appraise whether the business owner has protected his intellectual property.

4.1.- How can this be proved? Through an audit

Judges are reluctant to protect what they cannot see, for example, if the intangible asset can only be vaguely described and it is difficult to prove that it belongs to the company. So, it is necessary to make the intangible tangible.

An audit of business secrets identifies, documents and develops: what is secret and the protocol to protect it. In addition, it allows differentiation between industrial and business secrets and an employee’s and/or competitor’s general knowledge.

4.2. Carrying out an audit

An audit of industrial and business secrets varies depending on the industry and its intangible assets. Although, in general, (i) it locates assets, and (ii) establishes restrictions imposed on people who have access to assets, including employees, ex-employees, suppliers and external collaborators and partners.

List of possible industrial and business secrets:

  • Technical Information
  • R+D Information. Information contained in computers and/or laptops. Formulae, composites, prototypes, laboratory processes or experiments. Industrial or commercial know-how. Design data, manuals and supplier information.
  • Production processes
  • Suppliers – including costs and pricing data
  • Quality Control – Processes, manuals or records
  • Sales and Marketing – Including client lists and purchasing needs
  • Finances, budgets and forecasts – including product margins
  • Internal organization – Including key personnel
  • Methods and electronic or physical means of storage
  • Data on employees, external collaborators, suppliers and clients and partners
  • Security proceedings

The penultimate part of this article will look at the policy of protecting business secrets.

Santiago Nadal