Confidentiality
We
believe that information confidentiality is one of the most
important
aspects of our client relationship. Rest assured that as a
Bay Area
IP client your confidential information is fully protected by attorney-client
privilege. Moreover, as registered patent practitioners, we are bound under the severe
penalty
of US law, and
binding ethical duty under the US Patent Bar, to preserve all privileged
information in strict confidence.
If any
registered
patent practitioner (attorney or agent), or his/her employees, is found to
compromise a
client's
confidential
information as protected by law, he/she can be permanently
barred
personally from practicing in patents or any other area of
law. Simply
put, no registered practitioner would risk their career
because of improper
behavior. In stark
contrast, it
is important to understand, that non-attorney companies are
run by unregistered/unlicensed
persons who can continue to do non-legal business (e.g.,
marketing, prototyping, patent/trademark
searches, etc.) even if they intentionally compromise the
secrecy of
your
confidential information. Even if you go through the
considerable expense
to sue such a company for damages (e.g., under an
confidentiality agreement), they could just fold the
company and
do business under a new corporate name.
However,
as a secondary layer of protection for those who wish it, upon request, we can provide you a nondisclosure agreement
(NDA). Generally, if you seek an NDA from us
should, you provide us with your full legal name, the name of
your invention,
and your residence address- we will send you a signed copy of
the NDA.
