Recipes for top performing food products are among the most jealously guarded business trade secrets in the world.  Think secret sauce.  Think Coca-Cola®.  Think the Kentucky Fried Chicken®.  Think Thomas’ English Muffins! 

Bimbo Bakeries USA, the owner of Thomas’ English Muffins has sued a former 20 year employee in Pennsylvania, one of only 10 people in the world to whom the famous muffin recipe was entrusted.  What did he do?  He went to work for a competitor Hostess Brands Inc. and even though he hasn’t actually “stolen” any trade secrets, Bimbo says it’s inevitable that he’ll share his knowledge about the “special nooks and crannies.”

What do you think?  Should the bad thing have to happen first?  Or should a business be able to nip it in the bud? 

Share your opinion below and also join me on February 3 at 8 pm Eastern (5 pm Pacific) for a free teleseminar with attorney Mark Saloman of Proskauer Rose, LLP on Ask the No Nonsense Lawyer when we’ll discuss how to protect your business trade secrets. 

Click here now for more details.  

Have you heard about Asher B. Edelman?  He did a ton of valuable research to help him find the perfect acquisition target.  He analyzed their finances, he poured over their business operations and ownership structure and he also retained a company to help him arrange for financing and identify a potential business partner to join him in the acquisition.  That’s the good news.

The bad news is that Edelman’s research, marked confidential, was shared with the potential business partner on the basis of a hand shake agreement.  After reviewing the proposal, the partner decided not to join in Edelman’s venture.  Now fast forward six years later.  The potential partner of old buys the same acquisition target in an auction and Edelman is not too happy about it.  In fact, he was so unhappy that he sued.  He claimed the would-be partner improperly used and profited from the information shared years earlier.

The court, however, made Edelman even more unhappy.  It didn’t buy his claim for misappropriation of proprietary information.  They said he didn’t make sure that the information stayed secret.  He didn’t take sufficient precautions.   How’s that for a slap in the face?

Your confidential business information and trade secrets are too important to let fall into the Edelman trap. 

Find out what you need to do to keep your trade secrets and confidential information protected by joining me on February 3, 2010 at 8 pm Eastern, 5 pm Pacific when I interview attorney Mark Saloman on my teleseminar program, Ask the No Nonsense Lawyer.  Mark is a member of the Non-Compete & Trade Secret Group at the law firm of Proskauer Rose and an expert on protecting and enforcing business confidentiality.  Best of all, the program is free.  There is no registration fee.

Don’t wait.  You could be leaving your business wide open to trade secret theft and not even know it.  Click here now to learn more about this free and informative teleseminar.  Space is limited, reserve your spot today.

Making sure your business “family jewels” are protected is one of the best business investments you’ll ever make.   

Copyright © 2010, Corporate M.O., LLC.