In this week's post, we see with more and more companies allowing employees to work remotely, many employers may overlook the importance of creating new guidelines and policies that govern how employees handle sensitive information or company trade secrets from home.

Plus, the Texas Alternative Dispute Resolution Act (Texas Civil Practices and Remedies Code Section 154) sets forth the requirements in the State of Texas for referral by Texas courts of disputes to alternative dispute resolution procedures (ADR). 

The New Normal for Business Should Include Protecting Trade Secrets

The new normal for busines often requires employees to work remotely.

Generally, most employers are familiar with the laws that they need to understand “in the workplace.”  But with this new normal for business, company grounds are no longer the only “workplace” that employers need to cover.  And especially for smaller companies that may not have had the budget for “company” phones or laptops in the first place, these companies are especially vulnerable if they have their employees conduct business calls or conferences via personal computers or cell phones.  

Moreover, with the new use of teleconferencing applications like Zoom, BlueJeans, and WhatsApp, business owners must ask themselves if they have read the Terms of Use for such programs and if they truly understand how the use of these programs may impact their proprietary information.

In today’s new age of working remotely, businesses should consult legal counsel about how to appropriately update their own policies, employee agreements, or standards that dictate how an employee should work from home.  Failing to do so could leave companies vulnerable to the loss of valuable intellectual property, trade secrets, or even essential personnel.

Read more here.

Texas Alternative Dispute Resolution Act

The Texas Alternative Dispute Resolution Act (Texas Civil Practices and Remedies Code Section 154) sets forth the requirements in the State of Texas for referral by Texas courts of disputes to alternative dispute resolution procedures (ADR).  

Read how the Act addresses ADR procedures here.

Click to read the previous Weekly IP Buzz on Thriving Attorney.

For more posts, see our Intellectual Property Law Blog.

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In addition to Thriving Attorney, Darin M. Klemchuk is founder of Klemchuk LLP, a litigation, intellectual property, and transactional law firm located in Dallas, Texas. Click to read more about Darin Klemchuk's practice as an intellectual property lawyer.