Trade Secret Protection & Litigation


Why Choose Us

Your company’s trade secrets and intellectual property are among its most valuable assets. From customer lists and product designs to complex formulas, patterns, procedures, and plans, you have developed unique, intangible assets that help differentiate your company and allow it to operate and thrive. Our diverse team of technology-savvy attorneys understand the importance of the know-how of your business and the key role your trade secrets play in maintaining your competitive advantage.

Our approach is to learn the ins and outs of your business, working proactively with you to develop customized strategies to protect your confidential innovations and processes. It is our deep understanding of your technologies and methods that allows us to help you safeguard your trade secrets and vigorously defend your IP rights in disputes when they arise. Viewing your proprietary information through an IP lens, we recognize how your trade secrets fit into your larger IP portfolio and help you realize the full value of your intellectual assets.

“Ulmer’s team has made it their business to learn our business, and because they know our business so well, they are in a better position to give us valuable advice. One of the best things about working with Ulmer is that they have the expertise in-house to handle nearly any type of matter imaginable.”

– Client feedback from Chambers USA

Who We Assist

Our team counsels diverse companies in protecting their valuable trade secrets and varied technologies. This includes a sustainable agriculture technology startup, several leading software companies, a midsize manufacturer of chemical coatings, a Fortune 500 manufacturing company, and a Fortune 50 food company. We have also conducted dozens of reviews evaluating the protection of confidential information and trade secrets for a range of clients, from cutting-edge technology startups to international Fortune 500 companies.

What We Do

We help our clients understand the power of trade secrets, how they can be protected, and where the evolving line between fair and unfair competition should be drawn. In protecting and enforcing your confidential and proprietary information, our attorneys provide a range of useful services, including but not limited to:

  • Conducting careful audits to identify and inventory clients’ trade secrets, including interviewing key stakeholders and reviewing critical documents.
  • Evaluating employee and third-party relationships, security measures, and geographic considerations in developing best practices to protect confidential information and trade secrets.
  • Drafting, defending, and enforcing restrictive covenants and other agreements that clarify and strengthen the protection of trade secrets, including non-compete, non-solicitation, and non-disclosure agreements.
  • Litigating and defending claims of unfair competition and trade secret misappropriation through final trial on the merits and appeal in federal and state courts and arbitration forums across the country.
  • Obtaining temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctions to protect clients’ confidential information from misappropriation.
  • Helping clients navigate contractual issues to ensure they are not violating others’ IP rights in developing new products or hiring new employees.

Ulmer Partner Rachael L. Rodman recently provided her professional perspective to Bloomberg Law in her article, “Reasonable Measures Under the DTSA.” In the article, Rodman examines the Defend Trade Secrets Act and the factors courts consider in evaluating sufficient reasonable measures to protect the secrecy of information, and also provides...

Ulmer & Berne LLP is pleased to announce that Partner Rachael L. Rodman was recently appointed as a member of the Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO) Diversity & Inclusion Committee, which is dedicated to establishing organizational focus around and executing programs based on diversity and inclusion. As one of IPO’s Management and...

Ulmer & Berne LLP is pleased to announce that Partner Rachael L. Rodman was recently appointed as a Vice Chair of the Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO) Women in IP Committee, which seeks to promote the advancement of women in IP law and to increase the diversity of IPO’s membership. As Vice...

Ulmer & Berne LLP is pleased to announce the election of four partners to the firm, effective January 1, 2019. This class of new partners includes accomplished attorneys from three of Ulmer’s offices who have diverse experience spanning multiple legal disciplines. “Through their hard work, determination, and dedication to providing...

Representative Experience