Here is an interesting article from Business Week online titled “Heading Off Trade Secret Theft”. The article notes a recent study which showed that 58% of office workers in the USA have taken office supplies for their personal use. However, along with such items as staplers and paperclips, employees admitted to stealing things that could be truly valuable – including classified information.
Companies must realize that their assets include non-tangible assets such as confidential information – customer databases and manufacturing processes included. Sometimes called “trade secrets”, the loss of such data can sometimes prove disastrous for business. Imagine if Coca Cola inadvertently disclosed the recipe for Coke.
While companies have the ability to sue current and former employees who disclose such information as a breach of fiduciary duty, it is also useful to have a written agreement between an employer and an employee. It is also useful for companies to have written policies that clearly describe the behaviour a company expects from an employee and their obligations to protect critical business information.
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