One major consideration in protecting a trade secret is the efforts by the company to keep the secret confidential. Develop a written policy for WidgetCo (in this chapter’s Theory to Practice problem) to help ensure that its trade secrets and other materials will be protected and kept confidential under the Uniform Trade Secrets Act. What considerations should management take into account when developing a policy on trade secrets? Be sure to think about primary stakeholders (such as employees who may depart with the trade secrets) and secondary stakeholders (such as third-party visitors or outside auditors that may be privy to the processes and materials). Note that this exercise is not intended to generate a formal legal document. Rather, the firm’s policy should be thought of as a draft statement of the firm’s internal controls over its trade secrets, processes, and materials.

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