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TechTrends e-Newsletter I February 2004 Page 4 of 5 <br /> • Dr. Martin Carmichael, Upstream Solutions <br /> • MTI ISO Registration Series: Customer Satisfaction Measurement <br /> Dates: 3/1/04; 3/4/04 <br /> Time: 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. <br /> Locations: 3/1-Edina; 3/4-Brainerd <br /> Cost: $150 <br /> Featured Speaker: <br /> • Techlogic Inc. <br /> Minnesota Trade Office program: Growing Global <br /> ti Dates: 3/4/04, 3/5/04 <br /> Time: 8 a.m.-4 p.m. <br /> Location: Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites, St. Cloud <br /> Cost: $195 if preregistered; $180 for multiple registrants; $225 at the door. <br /> (Advanced registration is highly recommended.) <br /> For registration information, contact Gloria Henck, 651-297-3920, <br /> clloria.henckCalstate.mn.us. For program information, contact Matthew Abbott, 651- <br /> 297-4282, matthew.abbott@istate.mn.us. <br /> • MTI Tech Forum: Quality Standards-ISO Six Sigma <br /> Dates: 3/19/04 <br /> Time: 9 a.m.-2:30 p.m. <br /> Location: TBA <br /> Cost: $149 <br /> • Featured Speaker(s): TBA <br /> .111 <br /> For more information on these and other MTI programs, <br /> call 612-373-2900, 800-325-3073, or e-mail: <br /> www.minnesotatechnology.org/events/TechForums/index.asp. <br /> • ['Perspective <br /> Secrets of Trade Secrets <br /> How can you protect your most vital intellectual property? <br /> Trade secrets are perhaps a company's biggest and most crucial intellectual <br /> property assets. Patents, trademarks, and copyrights round out the list of I.P. <br /> heavies, but trade secrets are even more likely to be misunderstood, and even <br /> harder to manage. Small and mid-sized manufacturers have discovered that rubber- <br /> stamping their processes "confidential" doesn't necessarily make them so. How can <br /> your company protect the foundations of its livelihood? Start by knowing what your <br /> secrets are. <br /> Practically anything of economic value, including customer lists, formulae, new <br /> product ideas, and manufacturing processes, should be considered trade secrets. <br /> The Uniform Trade Secrets Act (UTSA) defines them as any information with actual <br /> or potential economic value that is not widely known or readily obtainable. Unlike <br /> patented or copyrighted material that's publicly available for a fixed period of time, <br /> a trade secret must stay a secret. And there lies another key distinction: The owner <br /> of a trade secret must take "reasonable" formal measures to keep it that way. <br /> What are "reasonable" formal measures? Generally, you must identify and protect <br /> http://www.minnesotatechnology.org/publications/techtrends/2004/February/printVersion.... 2/23/2004 <br />