Further, certain intellectual property rights are destroyed if confidentiality is not preserved. For example, if your business is research intensive, and you freely exhibit a new idea or way of doing something at a trade show, you will no longer be able to apply for patents in respect of that new idea. So keeping information confidential, at least until a new idea has been commercially and legally evaluated for patentability, is essential.

Accordingly, you should always educate your employees to keep everything confidential and you should never retain independent consultants without first asking them to sign a written consultancy agreement, which includes confidentiality provisions.

In the event that you become aware of a breach of confidential information, you should seek legal advice as soon as possible. The most important thing is to stop the confidential information being passed on to third parties, and this may mean making an urgent application to the Court.