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ABL seminar: Hands off! Protecting your company’s confidential information

Employment & Workplace Advisory , Intellectual Property
Workplace event
Earlier this week, Arnold Bloch Leibler’s head of workplace advisory, Bridget Little, and intellectual property disputes specialist, David Robbins, led a roundtable seminar discussing practical ways to protect a company’s confidential information and IP before, during and after the employment relationship.

Speaking over lunch in ABL’s Melbourne offices, David and Bridget shared their on-the-ground experiences advising clients on the most effective ways to protect and secure their information, proactive tips to reduce the risk of an employee breach, as well as recommended steps if a breach arises.

The topics they covered included:

  • how to monitor the use and disclosure of information by current and former staff
  • what to do if you discover a breach (including quarantining information, investigations, interviewing staff and insurance considerations)
  • the litigation and dispute resolution process (as either plaintiff or defendant), and
  • best practice policies, processes and agreements, including IP and post-employment restraints.

Focusing on the employment law elements, Bridget discussed the often overlooked practical and legal safeguards that can be put in place to deter and deal with unauthorised use of confidential information: “We are seeing an increase in employees exploiting a company’s confidential information (whether deliberately or inadvertently). In this environment, it’s crucial that employers take holistic measures to protect that information, including express confidentiality and IP provisions in employment agreements, and having in place strategic policies and procedures.”

David discussed strategies businesses can adopt to avoid protracted and costly IP disputes, using as an example a Federal Court case which ABL recently settled at an early stage:  “Courts are placing increased responsibility on lawyers and their clients to ensure that the costs of litigation are proportionate to the complexity, financial amount and importance of the issues in dispute".

Click here to view David and Bridget’s presentation slides from the seminar. 

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