The dawn of the information age in the second half of the twentieth century has led to the realization that a company’s intangible property assets are often more valuable than its tangible assets. Charged with protecting those intangibles, or intellectual property, corporate counsel have had to familiarize themselves with the laws pertaining to patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets. Trade secret law, in particular, has exploded in popularity in recent years because, unlike the other forms of IP protection, it enables a company to keep its proprietary information secret. And secrecy is of the utmost importance these days, considering that the fast pace of innovation routinely renders technology obsolete in less than 18 months.
“COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE” IS THE KEY TO PROTECTION
