Some of a Florida company’s most valuable property may not be physical assets. In many cases, particularly in the tech industry, some of the most important assets owned by a company are trade secrets. When these assets end up in the wrong hands, it can lead to a theft of ideas, financial loss and other complications. Apple recently pursued legal action over what it claimed was a theft of its trade secrets.
Fighting for its trade secrets
In its claim, Apple said that the tech start-up Rivos was able to access some of the company’s trade secrets through two former employees. Apple also said that the theft was the result of a coordinated campaign to steal employees from Apple’s chip design division. The two employees allegedly took gigabytes worth of data to the competing company, including unreleased designs and more.
As part of the campaign, Apple claims that Rivos instructed some Apple employees to download certain apps for the purpose of encrypted communication. The next step will be to see if the complaint has merit. Through the litigation process, Apple may be able to pursue compensation for its losses.
Protection of trade secrets
A Florida company would be wise to take the necessary steps to protect its trade secrets. In the event of a breach of contract or a compromise of confidential information, a company has grounds to fight for a recouperation of its losses. For matters pertaining to the protection of trade secrets or how to proceed after the theft of trade secrets, it may help to speak with an experienced business law attorney.