Protected disclosure

A qualifying disclosure made in appropriate circumstances to an appropriate person becomes a protected disclosure, entitling the worker to protection against victimization. The PIDA lists six cases where a disclosure by a worker is a protected disclosure. Basically, the Act encourages private or semi-private disclosures, either to the employer, or to the person committing the wrongful act, and many employers have produced Codes of Practice on Pnblic Interest Disclosure, which also specify other persons to whom disclosures may be made and the way the matter is to be handled. Only if it is of a more serious nature, or if the private or semi-private route has failed, may the employee be justified in disclosing to a wider audience, such as the press, but in this case close attention needs to be paid to the minutiae of the Act, for there are many pitfalls for the public spirited, but poorly advised employee. Dismissal of an unprotected employee may... 

Trade secret rights are based on the complete absence of disclosure of the invention to anyone other than the owner. Oftentimes ideas, developments, and advances that are the subject of trade secret protection are those which may not be patentable, for any of a number of reasons. These reasons can include the nature and subject matter of the advance or development, as weU as the commercial value of the advance or development. In any instance, an individual, business, or corporation is weU-advised to consider all possible means of protection when reviewing an advance, development, or invention. 

Some factors to consider when evaluating patent and trade secret protection include (/) the form and content of the technological advance, idea, development, or appHcation (2) the desired term of protection (J) the potential for the technological advance, idea, development, or appHcation to be the subject of a commercial product (4) work done previously (5) events which have pubHcized or pubHcly disclosed the technological advance, idea, development, or appHcation and (6) factors that may be critical to keeping the technological advance, idea, development, or appHcation confidential, and what events may necessitate disclosure. 

The legally trained member of the interdisciplinary committee should provide insight as to the significance of the technological advance and as to whether any commercial product ultimately derived from the invention could be protected by an issued patent. Another important function of this person is to determine the scope of the invention based on preceding events, pubHcations, or activities which may have otherwise limited the breadth of the invention. To this end, U.S. law requires that an invention satisfy a number of prerequisites or requirements before issuing a patent novelty, nonobviousness, utiHty, and disclosure. 

Best Mode. The patent appHcant must disclose the best mode of practicing the invention known to the inventor at the time the appHcation is filed. Concerns over best mode often arise when a patent appHcant seeks patent protection for an invention but, at the same time, desires to keep as a trade secret one aspect of the invention necessary to the production of a commercial product. This action denies the pubHc access to this information and undermines the poHcies of the patent system. This would effectively deprive the pubHc of information on the amount of disclosure made in exchange for the 17-yr patent grant, and hence it invaHdates the patent grant. 

The trade secret must also be the subject of reasonable efforts to maintain its security, though the disclosure of a trade secret does not necessarily end its protectable life. Rather, an evaluation must be made as to whether the disclosure was made by someone who knew, or should have known, that the information was a trade secret. If so, trade secret rights may stiH be protected. 

The protection of a trade secret is a complex task dependent upon any number of factors. The mere formation of an intention to maintain information as secret is not enough actual safeguards must be put into place. The owner of a trade secret must identify the information as a trade secret and protect the information from disclosure. Means used to prevent disclosure might include the following ... 

Patent laws provide for several stages in the life of an application for a patent on an invention. The pattern followed by patent laws in effect in most industrialized countries during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and still in effect in the United States in 1995, calls for the examination of all patent appHcations to certify that the claimed invention meets the national standards for novelty, usehilness, and inventiveness. The owner of the technology to be patented files appHcation papers that include a specification containing a description of the invention to be patented (called the disclosure) and claims defining the limits of the invention to be protected by the patent, a formal request for the issuance of a patent, and fees. Drawings of devices and apparatuses, electrical circuits, flow charts, etc, are an important part of the disclosures of most nonchemical and many chemical patents. 

Are the hazards associated with handling hazardous wastes disclosed to the disposal facility If yes, does the disclosure include information on proper spill response measures and is it protective of employees, transporters and waste handlers. 

Sec. 312.50 General responsibibties of sponsors Protection of Human Subjects Financial Disclosure by Clinical Investigators Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)... 

Trade secret protection is probably the weakest of all intellectual property rights. The US Uniform Trade Secret Act defines a trade secret as information, including a formula, pattern, compilation, program device, method, technique, or process, that (1) derives independent economic value, actual or potential, from not being generally known to, and not being readily ascertainable by proper means by, other persons who can obtain economic value from its disclosure or use and (2) is the subject of efforts that are reasonable under the circumstances to maintain its secrecy [33]. 

Often, the biggest obstacle to obtaining a patent is a company s own prior art. Thoughtful consideration as to the content and timing of disclosures can remove or minimize self-created obstacles to obtaining patent protection. Discuss the content of proposed patent applications and publications with your patent professional. 

As with any patent application, to obtain a patent on a gene, genetic component (e.g., EST or SNP), or diagnostic or therapeutic method, the applicant must demonstrate the utility, novelty, and nonobviousness of the discovery. The applicant must also supply a disclosure and written description of the subject of the proposed patent that is sufficient in detail to show that the inventor had possession of the claimed subject matter at the time of application and to enable one skilled in the field to make use of the claimed subject matter. Although the fundamental elements of patentability have been in place for decades for protection of such innovations as new mechani-... 

Finally, another obstacle is that some clients will not seek help out of fear that others will discover that they have drug problems and use that information against them. One solution is to educate the client about federal confidentiality laws that protect against disclosure while in treatment, or state laws that protect client confidentiality in therapy. Flowever, you also should be very honest that there are ways in which confidentiality can be suspended, or when outside institutions can access personal health information. For example, make sure to explain that state confidentiality laws can and will be suspended if the client expresses thoughts about harming him- or herself or others, and in some states, if he or she damages property. Additionally, if a client is mandated to services, he or she should be told that those officials who mandated the treatment may have access to treatment records and reports. Finally, tell clients that insurance carriers and their representatives also may have the right to access that information. Clients should be made aware that there are a number of protections in place to protect them, but also told frankly that some of the protections have limits. 

Federal confidentiality laws. Laws that protect clients from public disclosure. Lethality of a suicide plan. The likelihood that a plan will lead to a completed suicide. 

As you heard this morning from several speakers, the premanufacture notification provision of TSCA has been in effect since July 1, 1979 and since then EPA has received over 1,000 notices of intent to manufacture and introduce new chemicals into U.S. commerce. This is the only complete and accurate record of the development and commercialization of new chemicals ever compiled and, as such, is a repository of a wealth of information. A major portion of it is classified by EPA as confidential business information - CBI in our lingo - and is closely protected against inadvertent disclosure. 

In addition, the requirements and policies concerning the handling and treatment of confidential business information (CBI) are and will continue to be an important topic of "harmonization" discussions. In a number of ways, different approaches to CBI (between the EEC and the U.S.) will directly affect the CBI protections available within each country(ies). This is particularly true concerning the effects that the disclosure of proprietary information in one country will have upon industry s ability to protect CBI from disclosure in other nations. 

I mentioned three factors in federal law which impact on this disclosure problem. The first is that the Freedom of Information Act makes it difficult to withhold information. It does this both by an uncertain standard of confidentiality, and by the omission of the procedural protection which comes with all other kinds of adjudicative decisions by federal agencies. The courts rewrote the Freedom of Information Act s original intent in the 1974 National Parks v. Morton decision. Since that time, each submission to an agency has been vulnerable to disclosure if the owner fails to carry a rather difficult burden of proof That disclosure would cause substantial harm to competitive position at the time the disclosure is made. Assume that the owner of a secret catalyst had a market share of 10 in specialty fatty acids for rubber production, and filed the catalyst information with the EPA on April 1, 1982. When the request for disclosure comes in November 1983, what will the firm s market position be then, and how much would this... 

Note that the information developed for these regulations is to be protected from public disclosure but may be shared, at the secretary s discretion, with state and local government officials, including law enforcement officials and first responders possessing the necessary security clearances. Such shared information may not be... 

The protection accorded the trade secret holder is against the disclosure or unauthorized use of the trade secret by those to whom the... 

Perhaps its author is trying to tell us something about the rate of change in trade secret law by publishing this treatise in loose-leaf form with yearly supplements. A U.S. patent has a fixed term of 17 years and extends protection to the United States only—although its disclosures are worldwide. Foreign patents can be obtained separately in each country and may be quite costly. The scope of protection and subject matter which is patentable varies tremendously. There is action towards patents common to several countries, but the cost is apt to remain high, and many years will be required to determine their effectiveness. 

The owner of a trade secret may at times protect it by an oral understanding, or the circumstances surrounding disclosure to those who need to know as a requirement for their tasks will speak for itself. The better practice, however, requires a written document. This may be in broad terms—e.g., each time the employee acquires new information, a new agreement need not be drafted. Substantial changes in relationships require updating of the agreement. 

The Code of Professional Responsibility of the American Bar Association, Disciplinary Rule 2-108, provides in part that a lawyer shall not be a party to or participate in a partnership or employment agreement with another lawyer that restricts the right of a lawyer to practice law after the termination of a relationship created by the agreement, except as a condition to payment of retirement benefits. DR 4-101 provides for the protection of confidences and secrets of a client presumably forever unless disclosure is necessary under conditions set forth in the fine print, as, for example, to collect his fee. Interestingly, DR 2-106 (B) (2) provides that the determination of a reasonable fee includes "the likelihood, if apparent to the client, that the acceptance of the particular employment will preclude other employment by the lawyer. A lawyer cannot serve both sides in a dispute, and taking one client may later bar lucrative employment. 

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