We highly recommend working with an IP attorney throughout the process of developing a trade secrets management process in order to avoid mistakes and increase chances of obtaining and maintaining a Trade Secret. Unlike other IP Rights, these are not registered rights, but you will need to show that you are adhering with the requirements of the law in order to be able to argue that it is a protectable trade secret.
Their fees can range from AED 1,000-3,000 per hour.
Use our IP Attorney Registry to find a recommended agent to help guide you in your Trade Secrets journey.
Note: Some documents should be submitted in both Arabic and English. Any missing documents should be submitted in accordance with the timeline instructed by the MoEc through official notification. (Generally, 90 days from the notification delivery.)
Identify Sensitive Information:
Clearly identify and document all your Trade Secrets. Include details such as the nature of the secret, the date it was developed, and a list of people who have access to it. You will be further guided to achieve this step by diving into:
How can I effectively decide on what to classify as a Trade Secret?
Implementing Protection Measures:
Protecting your trade secrets involves using legal strategies along with physical and digital security measures. In the following sections, we'll outline the key tools to create a complete protection plan for your business's important secrets.
What Are the Practical Tools to Protect My Trade Secrets?
Educate Your Organization:
Highlight the importance of protecting trade secrets, handling confidential information correctly, and the legal penalties for sharing secrets. This will help create a culture that keeps information secret without making it too difficult, which could affect innovation or trust among employees.
Checklist for Developing an Employee Training and Awareness Program on Trade Secrets
Have a Routine Review and Audit:
Regularly check your trade secret protections to find and fix any weaknesses. Update security methods as technology changes and new risks appear. Regular audits help you keep your trade secrets safe and take action to protect them.
Trade Secret Protection Audit Worksheet
Understanding and valuing your business's trade secrets is important for staying competitive. We've created the Trade Secret Assessment & Protection Planner to help you evaluate and plan how to protect your trade secrets.
This planner simplifies the evaluation process by guiding you in 3 steps:
Step 1: Identify
The planner helps you identify information that could be a trade secret, considering factors like how secret it is, its commercial value, and the steps taken to keep it confidential.
Step 2: Catalog
You will be guided to sort the identified trade secrets into categories and note down important details for each, making it easier to prioritize and plan protection.
Step 3: Valuate
You’ll assess the commercial value and impact of each trade secret on your business to prioritize protection efforts effectively.
Use the Trade Secret Assessment & Protection Planner to make smart decisions on protecting your key information. This easy-to-use planner helps businesses focus on safeguarding their important secrets and maintaining a competitive edge.
Note: This planner is a worksheet for strategic trade secret protection planning, enabling you to pinpoint where your protection efforts need to be most focused.
A solid legal base is crucial for protecting trade secrets. This means making and enforcing agreements that clearly state everyone's duty to keep information confidential. Check out these key agreements:
Create internal Trade Secret and Data Management policies for your business to prevent leaks or theft and also to prevent receiving third party Trade Secrets that could be the basis of claims against you. Ensure employees are aware of the policies through training and create protocols for cascading communication to facilitate and identify breaches early and response plans.
Draft NDAs that clearly define confidential information, obligations of the parties, and exceptions to confidentiality. Ensure all relevant parties sign them before sharing any trade secrets. Consider it for employees, contractors, and business partners. This should also cover employment contracts with confidentiality clauses and proprietary information agreements.
Tips for drafting non-disclosure agreements (NDAs):
• Define Confidential Information: Clearly specify what constitutes confidential information in the context of your trade secrets – not all confidential information is a trade secret.
• Obligations and Restrictions: Detail the obligations of the receiving party, including restrictions on use, copying, and disclosure of confidential information.
• Term: Specify how long the NDA lasts, keeping in mind that trade secrets can last a long time.
• Jurisdiction and Dispute Resolution: Choose an appropriate legal jurisdiction and outline dispute resolution mechanisms.You can use Dubai Court or DIFC Court.
Incorporate confidentiality clauses in employment contracts to legally bind employees to protect any trade secrets and other confidential information they access during their employment.
Use these agreements to protect any unique methods, processes, or technologies that give your business an advantage. They are especially important when working with outside partners or vendors.
Consider what needs to be shared in order to meet the obligations of the agreement / what you intend to achieve with your customer / client. Does the trade secret itself need to be disclosed, or can it be "packaged" and shared with the other entity in final or near final form (for example, supplying a pre-packed concentrated COCA-COLA drinks mixture, rather than the actual recipe for COCA-COLA).
Protecting trade secrets means having strong physical and digital security. This keeps your secrets safe and only accessible to the right people.
Use IP management software to keep track of and manage trade secrets, including documents, access logs, and security measures.
The table below shows a general timeline and cost estimate for implementing trade secret practices in your organization. The actual time and costs can vary based on the size and complexity of your business.
We've estimated these based on current market rates and standard industry methods. For more accurate estimates, we recommend getting customized quotes from our trusted IP Attorneys, as different industries may have different requirements.
To learn more about the commercialization aspects of the process, head to the Leveraging Your Trade Secrets page.
