Trade Secrets in the Time of COVID-19

With so many employees now working remotely through the COVID-19 pandemic — using new and sometimes untested technologies — we are taking this opportunity to collect real-time perspectives on what companies are doing to protect their trade secrets in the current climate.

To that end, we have created a brief anonymous survey that should take no more than three minutes to complete. 

We plan to share the results so you can get a sense of what other businesses are doing to mitigate risks and manage confidential information and trade secrets in this time of crisis. 

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* 1. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, did your company use a remote work policy to address the protection of company information?

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* 2. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, has your company strengthened any existing work-from-home or remote work policies that address the protection of company information?

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* 3. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, has your company instituted a new remote work policy to address the protection of company information?

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* 4. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, has your company relaxed any remote work policy that addresses the protection of company information for purposes of convenience, ease of use, or as a result of employee complaints about the foregoing?

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* 5. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, has your company provided training to employees regarding the protection of company information while working remotely?

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* 6. Does your company provide employees with electronic devices and/or require that devices remote workers utilize meet certain security standards for purposes of working remotely? (Select all that apply)

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* 7. Does your company use software or other methods to monitor employees working remotely for compliance with the protection of company information?

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* 8. Does your company permit employees to use cloud storage services, such as Dropbox, Google Cloud, etc., for business purposes?

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* 9. Are there any cloud storage services that your company prohibits remote employees from using for business purposes?

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* 10. Does your company permit employees to use videoconferencing services, such as Zoom, Skype, WebEx, etc., for business purposes?

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* 11. Is there any videoconferencing software that your company prohibits remote employees from using for business purposes?

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* 12. Does your company require employees to sign post-employment restrictive covenants to protect confidential information or trade secrets?

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* 13. Do you intend to enforce post-employment restrictive covenants against employees who are laid off, furloughed, or otherwise terminated without cause as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic if necessary to protect trade secrets, confidential information, or customer goodwill?

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* 14. What types of resources would assist you in managing the protection of company information during the COVID-19 pandemic? (Check all that apply)

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* 15. What other issues are important to your protection of company information that are not covered by this survey? (Please specify)

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* 16. What is your area of business/industry?

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* 17. In what state is your headquarters/principal place of business?

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* 18. In what region(s) of the US do you have operations and/or employees? (Select all that apply)

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* 19. How many employees (full- and part-time) do you currently employ?

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* 20. If you would like an advance copy of the survey results, please provide your email address:

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