Trade Secrets

Los Angeles Intellectual Property Lawyers

Southern California Trade Secret and Employment Law Attorneys

A trade secret can be just about anything—the particular order of steps in the semiconductor manufacturing process, an internal employee training program, or even the recipe for your mother's famous meat loaf.

Most businesses (small to mid-sized companies and those owned or operated by non-U.S. citizens in particular) however, do not understand or recognize exactly what a trade secret is and as a result, risk losing the ability to protect these undervalued assets.

To learn more about steps you can take to protect your trade secrets and the services we offer— contact the law offices of Oswald & Yap in Irvine, California, today.

At Oswald & Yap, we represent both foreign and domestic interests with intellectual property issues here, in the United States, and in the courts of foreign countries. Our attorneys are skilled with all aspects of trade secret protection including:

• drafting of non-disclosure, non-compete, and other types of employment contracts
• establishing company policies and procedures regarding trade secrets
• employee training
• documentation of idea protection initiatives

Unlike patents, trademarks, and copyrights, trade secrets require no official registration. However, because a trade secret can be virtually anything and because there in way to "officially" register them—the entire burden of protecting your own trade secrets is up to you. Simply put, if you and your company do not actively take steps to safeguard them, they cease to become trade secrets and you run the risk of competitors finding them out.

Over 25 Years Helping Clients Maximize the Value of Their IP Assets

Listed in the Bar Registry of Preeminent Lawyers since 1985, Oswald & Yap has ABOTA Certified (less than 3 percent of trial attorneys nationally) and AV Rated* attorneys on staff ready to assist you. Put the extensive U.S. and international experience we have with intellectual property and trade secret concerns to work for you and contact us today.

We offer a free in-office consultation to all prospective clients and a willingness to work with clients regarding fee arrangements and costs. We are a minority-owned firm and WMBE certified business that is proud to serve clients from a wide range of nationalities. Our attorneys are fluent in Spanish, Korean, Mandarin, German, Taiwanese, Arabic, and French.

*CV, BV and AV are registered certification marks of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc., used in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards and policies. Martindale-Hubbell is the facilitator of a peer review rating process. Ratings reflect the confidential opinions of members of the Bar and the Judiciary. Martindale-Hubbell Ratings fall into two categories – legal ability and general ethical standards.