Your Competitive Advantage Lives in What You Keep Confidential
Trade secrets protect innovations that patents cannot. Some technologies gain more value through confidentiality than through public disclosure, and the choice between these paths can shape your competitive position for years. We help you navigate that decision strategically, aligning protection methods with business realities.
Your Competitive Edge Depends on What Stays Confidential
Trade secrets, such as proprietary formulas, manufacturing processes, customer lists, pricing strategies, and algorithms, represent your most valuable competitive advantages. Unlike patents that expire, trade secrets maintain protection indefinitely if they remain secret.
Modern threats have made protection harder: employee mobility, remote work vulnerabilities, cyberattacks, and international espionage. Every business faces the patent-versus-trade-secret decision. Patents provide enforceable rights but require disclosure and expire. Trade secrets offer permanent protection, but once leaked, they’re gone forever. Understanding these trade-offs is the first step toward building an IP strategy that truly protects what makes your business unique.
When Trade Secrets Make Strategic Sense
Some innovations evolve faster than patents can keep pace. Software algorithms iterate continuously. By the time a patent issues, your technology has moved on. Trade secrets protect what can’t be reverse-engineered, such as chemical formulas, customer data, pricing algorithms, proprietary methodologies, and many others.
Comprehensive Trade Secret Services
Proactive Protection Strategy
Trade secret protection starts before disputes arise. We draft Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) and confidentiality agreements calibrated to your industry and information sensitivity. Our employee agreements create enforceable obligations that courts will uphold while remaining practical for hiring and retention.
These proactive measures strengthen enforcement when misappropriation occurs and often prevent disputes entirely.
Trade Secret Enforcement and Recovery
When trade secrets are misappropriated, we pursue recovery with the same technical understanding we bring to patent work. Should theft occur, speed determines recovery. We preserve evidence, file emergency injunctions, and litigate under state and federal law. Whether the threat comes from departing employees, competitor poaching, or international theft, having a plan in place before something happens can make all the difference.
Defense Against Misappropriation Claims
Not every trade secret claim has merit. We defend clients accused of misappropriation, establishing independent development through documentation and technical analysis, proving that information was reverse-engineered from publicly available products, and challenging whether the claimed trade secret actually qualifies for protection or was adequately safeguarded.
Defense requires understanding both the technical merits and the business context. We seek practical resolutions where possible, recognizing that prolonged litigation damages business relationships and drains resources.
Integration with Broader IP Strategy
Trade secret protection doesn’t exist in isolation. We coordinate confidentiality strategies with patent prosecution, trademark protection for brand elements, copyright registration for technical documentation, and data privacy compliance that satisfies both IP protection and regulatory requirements.
Our comprehensive IP services through one trusted firm mean you’re not coordinating multiple attorneys across different specialties. Our integrated approach connects directly to our Privacy and Data Security practice, ensuring information protection strategies satisfy both competitive advantage and compliance obligations.
Why Technical Expertise Matters
Every Thomas Horstemeyer attorney holds computer, science, or engineering credentials alongside their law degree. Our technical backgrounds allow us to evaluate reverse-engineering risk realistically, make informed recommendations about patent-versus-trade-secret decisions, and persuasively present complex technical evidence in litigation.
Industries We Serve
Our trade secret practice spans industries where confidential information drives competitive advantage. Examples include:
- Software and AI Systems
- Manufacturing
- FinTech
- Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical
- Automotive Engineering
- Defense and Military Applications
What You Gain Working With Thomas Horstemeyer
- Direct access to your assigned relationship attorney
- Complete patent services through one trusted firm
- Efficient staffing that controls costs
- Nearly 30 years of exclusive IP expertise
Build Protection Before You Need Enforcement
Work with trade secret attorneys who understand both the legal frameworks and the technologies you’re protecting.