Trade secrets are valuable. Executives know that, but do they also know how easily they can be stolen? Marketing expert Michael Budden thinks not. The departure of unhappy employees, sabotage by current employees, or simply the carelessness of managers unmindful of the risks or unaware of the protection available to them can be hazardous to the security of essential corporate information. Now, however, there is the Uniform Trade Secrets Act. Prevalent in most states with enactment in others almost certain, the Act offers the protection executives need providing they have taken reasonable steps on their own before seeking redress under its provisions. In this readable text, Budden explains the law, how it works, and what executives must do to avail themselves of it. He includes revealing case studies for further guidance and to aid executives in their corporate strategic planning. An essential resource for people with management responsibilities in almost all organizations, and a useful quick refresher for their legal advisers.

Losses to organizations through trade secret misappropriations cost billions of dollars annually. No industry is immune. Trade secrets take many forms; recipes, formulas, customer lists, market research results, proprietary processes, and product development secrets are a few examples. Under the Uniform Trade Secrets Act, however, companies that have created plans and procedures to guard against such losses before they occur can now seek injunctive relief and collect monetary awards for damages. Dr. Budden introduces readers to the Act and the jurisdictions that have adopted it, and then explains what executives must do to create the necessary precondition of establishing a climate of confidentiality, including the use of non-compete covenants, and nondisclosure and noncompetition contracts. He goes on to lay out the sort of information that must be protected and how to appraise its value and the nature of its secrecy. Following up with advice on developing a plan of action to protect trade secrets, he concludes with a thoughtful discussion of the legal avenues and alternatives that executives can take and an outline of all the trade secrets protections the Act makes available.

Shoplifiting is the single largest crime impacting U.S. retail merchants with annual losses over $21 billion and with merchants spending hundreds of millions of dollars to prevent it. To add insult to injury, individuals apprehended for shoplifting may sue stores for damages resulting from their apprehension and detention--and sometimes win. There is good news though. States have enacted merchant protection statutes and civil recovery laws which allow retailers to deal more effectively with the problem. Merchant protection statutes give retail merchants the right to apprehend and detain individuals suspected of shoplifting, while enjoying a conditional privilege of civil liability immunity; yet, despite the offer of civil liability immunity, merchants still lose civil suits with alarming regularity. To avoid losses, merchants must know and follow the specifics of their state's statutes to enjoy the immunity.

Well-written with numerous real life experiences and sound advice, Budden's book will help retail store executives better understand shoplifting's enormous financial hazards to their businesses. Budden uses real life cases to show what executives and managers can and cannot do in their efforts to apprehend, detain, and prosecute shoplifters. They will also find up-to-date advice on using civil recovery laws and information about what is being done to make shoplifters pay for their crimes. Budden makes clear that to gain maximum benefit from both merchant protection statutes and civil recovery laws, retail store executives must understand how such legal measures work and how best to apply them to reduce inventory shrinkage. These retail professionals will find Budden's book a useful guide for developing their own safe, workable protection plans.