Randy Kahnke in Law360: Protect Trade Secret Information to Minimize Risks

The logistics around protecting your own trade secrets are tricky enough. Companies that find themselves in the midst of a failed M&A or joint venture deal run an increased risk of inadvertently being exposed to accidentally stealing another company's trade secrets.

Randy Kahnke has extensive experience with complex commercial and intellectual property disputes, and authored a book called The Secrets to Winning Trade Secret Cases. Kahnke was quoted in Law360 on best practices companies can take to avoid the pitfalls of "accidental" trade secret theft that can arise before and after deals go sour. "In these situations, there is often a tension between business goals and legal obligations, between the drive to close a deal and the duty to protect confidential information," said Kahnke. "If you are going to compete in the same space with your former business partner, have you thought about who within your organization may and may not have access to the confidential information you receive?"

Kahnke added that locking down information that could potentially expose company employees to outside trade secret information is critical. "Your former business partner is now your competitor. You have been exposed to their confidential information," Kahnke said. "If they accuse you of improperly using that information, will you be able to demonstrate that you developed your competing product without using that information? Following clean-room procedures is one way to create powerful evidence of independent development."