There are many different types of intellectual property that Peninsula Chicago has, ranging from trademarks of the hotel brand and logo to trade secrets of how we train our associates to ensure the Peninsula’s high standard of luxury and impeccable service.
Some examples of the intellectual property we possess include:
Trademark: The Peninsula brand name, logo & uniforms
Trade secrets: Unique operation systems & the “Peninsula Standards”
We can protect our intellectual property by applying the law. The “Federal Defence Trade Secrets Act” (DTSA) will protect our trade secrets of the Peninsula such as employee training programs and standards that employee must follow to ensure our high level of service. The DTSA supplements existing laws, many of which are based on the “Uniform Trade Secrets Act” (UTSA).
To ensure that we follow DTSA & UTSA we must remember that:
Broad types of information are protectable
Information must not be generally known or discoverable
Reasonable efforts must be take to maintain secrecy
We can enforce trade secret rights by establishing a trade secret protection program which include:
Identifying trade secrets
Secure employee commitment
Pre-employment Clearance
Non-disclosure Agreements
Non-competition Agreements
Employee Education/training
Preclearance of Engineers speeches and publications
Exit interview/Exit Agreements
The Peninsula needs to protect their trademark which can be defined as our trade dress (Uniform) and trade name (Brand Name and Logo). We can protect our trademark by:
Having a strong trademark
Selecting a distinct trademark
Perform a trademark search
Create rights in trademark through commerce
Registering the trademark
This way we can prove trademark infringement if people try to copy The Peninsula Brand.
