Orange County Unfair Business Competition and Trade Secrets Attorneys
In California, the Unfair Competition Law prohibits anti-competitive practices, which is designed to protect others from unfair, unlawful, or fraudulent business acts or practices. Likewise, unfair competition law makes it illegal for companies to practice unfair, untrue, deceptive, or misleading advertising (AKA “false advertising”) due to the potential to harm others. In cases of unfair competition and false advertising, “others” includes businesses.
Unfair competition claims may be brought against a business or, by a business for engaging in practices such as:
- Hiring away of employees, in violation of existing agreements
- Interference with customer relations
- Pricing practices which harms the competition
- Restraint of trade issues
- Theft/misappropriation of trade secrets
Of the various violations of unfair competition laws, trade secret theft or misappropriation is often the gravest threat to a business. The trade secrets of a business include information about the business which derives economic value from not being widely known by the public, or by competitors.
Examples of Trade Secrets in Southern California
Trade secrets which include proprietary information and confidential information are frequently a business’s most valuable assets. Theft or misuse of these assets can therefore cause significant economic damage to a company. Examples of trade secrets include:
- Bid specifications
- Corporate meeting minutes and agendas
- Customer lists
- Designs
- Formulas
- Manufacturing practices
- Marketing strategies
- Programs
- Techniques
- Unpatented inventions
Safeguarding Trade Secrets in Southern California
When it comes to protecting your business from trade secret theft, the experienced trade secret attorneys at Brown & Charbonneau, LLP in Irvine can help. Our team of award-winning attorneys are here to provide aggressive legal counsel to protect your trade secrets. We offer the following services to business owners:
- Drafting and enforcing non-compete and non-solicitation agreements among business owners
- Drafting and enforcing non-compete and non-solicitation agreements for sales/acquisition of new business
- Drafting non-disclosure agreements and similar contracts to protect trade secrets
Despite best efforts by companies to protect their valuable information—including non-disclosure agreements, employment agreements, and monitoring or restricting access to valuable information— disgruntled employees, and direct competitors remain a threat. If your company’s trade secrets have been misappropriated, our attorneys are also here to pursue a claim by:
- Taking aggressive legal action if laws protecting your trade secrets are being violated
- Taking aggressive action against businesses or employees who are engaging in unfair competition
These actions may include seeking an injunction or utilizing the civil court system to recover punitive damages, if warranted.
How Brown & Charbonneau, LLP Can Help Protect Your SoCal Business
Trade secret and unfair competition laws in California are complex. For example, over time, information may lose trade secret status. Likewise, California law mandates exact requirements that must be met in order to make a misappropriation claim. Our team of award-winning complex business litigators at Brown & Charbonneau understands all of the nuances of unfair competition and trade secrets law and can advise you according to your unique case.
If you’re involved in a dispute over unfair competition or are pursuing or defending yourself from trade secret misappropriation claims, contact Brown & Charbonneau, LLP today by calling 714-505-3000. For the latest legal news, follow Brown & Charbonneau, LLP on Twitter and join us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
Unfair Business Competition and Trade Secrets Attorneys — Brown & Charbonneau, LLP
Brown & Charbonneau, LLP is a top-rated business litigation, corporate, real estate and family law firm in Irvine, California. We are honored to be named by Best’s Lawyers® as one of the Top Law Firms in the US, including the specialty area of commercial litigation. As an AV-rated law firm, we are proud of our 10.0 Superb Client Rating from Avvo. Our top-reviewed Southern California attorneys have also earned specializations from the State Bar of California, as Certified Trial Specialists, and are included amongst the elite attorneys to be named Super Lawyers®.
Should you have any other issues involving any of the below areas of practice, please feel free to contact us.
- General Business & Corporate
- Business Litigation & Contract Disputes
- Civil Litigation
- Partnership & Shareholder Disputes
- Fraud Claims
- Breach of Fiduciary Duty Claims
- Real Estate & Construction Disputes
- Trade Secrets, Non-Competes & Unfair Competition
- Employment Disputes
- Personal Injury & Elder Abuse Cases
- Trial Specialist
- Family Law
- Mediation
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