FAQ/Fees

Our Dallas Trade Secrets and Unfair Competition Attorneys can help you protect your trade secrets and other competetive advantages.

Here are our top 5 Frequently Asked Questions:

Q. What is unfair competition?
A. Under Texas law, unfair competition is an umbrella for a variety of wrongful acts, including trademark and trade name infringement, commercial espionage, passing off of goods and services of another, dilution, etc.

Q. What types of companies are at risk for unfair competition?
A. Any company that has employees or ex-employees is at risk for unfair competition. Employees often have knowledge of a company's trade secrets and confidential information, that if disclosed to competitors or used improperly, would damage the company's business.

Q. What can a company do to protect itself from unfair competition?
A. While no precaution is perfect, there are a number of steps a company can take to reduce the risk of injury of unfair competition. First, a company should use an employment agreement containing confidentiality, non-compete, and non-solicitation provisions to help safeguard against the risk of departing employees improperly using or disclosing trade secrets and other confidential information. Second, the company should use non-disclosure agreements when disclosing its confidential information to third parties, like vendors, business partners, and potential investors. Third, the company should register any trademarks it uses to identify its products and services.

Q. How much will this cost?
A. The following are the average legal fees for basic agreements: (1) employment agreement with confidentiality and non-competition provisions -- $1,000 - $2,000; (2) non-disclosure agreements for third parties -- $500 - $1,000; and (3) trademark application -- $1,300. These fees do not include expenses such as filing fees and are for basic agreements only.