Keep Your Edge Confidential with an Orlando Trade Secret Attorney
Trade secrets protect the confidential information that gives your business its advantage—client lists, pricing, processes, and know-how. As an Orlando, Florida trade secret attorney, Keough Law helps you protect that information and pursue or defend misappropriation claims under Florida's FUTSA and the federal DTSA.
70+ 5-star reviewsRequest a Free Consultation
Tell us about your situation and we'll be in touch shortly.
Your advantage is only safe if you guard it.
Unlike a trademark or copyright, a trade secret isn't registered anywhere. Its protection depends entirely on the steps you take to keep it secret. The day you stop guarding it is the day you can lose it.
Most trade-secret losses happen through people you trusted—employees, partners, vendors. The right agreements and protocols, in place beforehand, are what make the difference.
- A key employee leaves for a competitor—taking your client list, pricing, or process.
- A vendor or contractor you trusted shares your confidential information.
- You discover a “secret” isn’t protected because no one ever locked it down.
- You’re accused of misappropriating someone else’s trade secrets.
More of your business is a trade secret than you think
If it has value because competitors don't have it, and you take reasonable steps to keep it confidential, it can be a protectable trade secret. Common examples:
- Customer and prospect lists
- Pricing models and margins
- Manufacturing processes and formulas
- Software, algorithms, and source code
- Supplier terms and vendor data
- Business strategies and R&D
From protection plan to the courtroom
We help you protect confidential information before there's a problem—and fight for you when there is one.
Protection plans
We identify what actually qualifies as a trade secret and build the reasonable measures the law requires.
Agreements & policies
NDAs, confidentiality and invention-assignment clauses, and employee on-boarding and exit protocols.
Misappropriation claims
When information walks out the door, we move fast—investigation, demand letters, and injunctions.
Litigation & defense
We prosecute and defend trade-secret claims under Florida’s FUTSA and the federal DTSA.
Protection is something you do
Courts only protect trade secrets when the owner took reasonable steps to keep them secret. The same information can be fully protectable—or worth nothing in court—depending on what you did beforehand.
Put the measures in place now and, if a secret is ever taken, you can seek an injunction, damages, and—when the theft is willful—exemplary damages and attorney's fees.
Exposed
- May not qualify as a secret
- No NDAs or access controls
- Hard to prove in court
- Limited or no remedies
Protected
- Qualifies under FUTSA & DTSA
- NDAs + need-to-know access
- Documented, provable secret
- Injunction, damages & fees
We protect secrets—and win when they're challenged
We secured a no-liability verdict for a client sued for copyright infringement and trade secret misappropriation. Whether you're protecting confidential information, pursuing someone who took it, or defending against a claim, we bring focused, practical advocacy.
“Working with startups in the Orlando area since 1989, I've come across and worked with many attorneys. In that time, I've worked with two that stood head and shoulders above the rest. Shaun is one.”
Burnout Game Ventures
Startups & IP
A plan to protect what you know
You don't need to become a trade-secret expert. Here's how we make your confidential information defensible.
Identify & inventory
We map the confidential information that gives your business its edge and confirm what qualifies for protection.
Lock it down
We put reasonable measures in place—NDAs, access controls, policies—so the secret is legally protectable.
Respond to theft
If information is taken, we investigate quickly and pursue injunctions to stop the bleeding.
Litigate or defend
We pursue damages for misappropriation—or defend you against an overreaching claim.
Your know-how, locked down
- A documented protection plan that makes your secrets legally enforceable.
- Agreements and policies that survive employee and vendor turnover.
- A fast, decisive response—including injunctions—when information is taken.
- Confidence on both sides: enforcing your rights and defending against claims.
Scoped to your situation
Protection plans and agreements—NDAs, confidentiality and assignment clauses, policies—along with misappropriation claims and defense are billed hourlyand tailored to your goals. You'll know the plan before we start.
You work directly with Shaun Keough on every matter. Because we also handle trademarks and copyright, your trade-secret strategy fits your full IP plan.
Trade secret questions
What qualifies as a trade secret in Florida?
Under Florida’s Uniform Trade Secrets Act (FUTSA), information qualifies if it has independent economic value because it isn’t generally known and the owner takes reasonable steps to keep it secret. Customer lists, pricing, formulas, processes, and software can all qualify—if you actually protect them.
What does “reasonable measures” to protect a secret mean?
It means taking real steps to keep information confidential: NDAs and confidentiality clauses, limited access on a need-to-know basis, password protection and marking documents confidential, and clear on-boarding and exit procedures. Without reasonable measures, a court may find you have no trade secret at all.
What is the difference between FUTSA and the DTSA?
FUTSA is Florida’s state trade-secret law; the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) is the federal equivalent, available when the secret relates to interstate commerce. The DTSA opens the door to federal court and, in extraordinary cases, an ex parte seizure order. We assess which path—or both—fits your situation.
What can I recover if someone misappropriates my trade secrets?
Remedies can include an injunction to stop the use or disclosure, damages for actual loss and unjust enrichment, and—where misappropriation is willful and malicious—exemplary damages and attorney’s fees. Acting quickly preserves both the secret and your remedies.
How long do I have to bring a trade-secret claim?
Under FUTSA, a misappropriation claim generally must be brought within three years of when it was discovered or should have been discovered. The DTSA has a similar three-year limit. Because evidence disappears fast, you should act well before any deadline.
Can you help if I’ve been accused of taking trade secrets?
Yes. We defend businesses and individuals accused of misappropriation—scrutinizing whether the information is truly a secret, whether reasonable measures existed, and whether it was independently developed—and we resolve many claims before they become expensive litigation.
Ready to protect
what you've built?
Schedule a free, confidential consultation. We'll talk through your situation and figure out the right next step together.