[Online seminar co-hosted by Hokuto & Co., Ltd. and FRONTEO Co., Ltd.]

As employment becomes more fluid, there are an increasing number of cases where key personnel take trade secrets with them when they leave the company and use them at a rival company, resulting in significant damage. It is most important to prevent trade secrets from being taken out, but it is not possible to prevent all cases of trade secrets being taken out by former employees. When a trade secret is discovered to have been taken out, it is also necessary to understand in advance what the initial response should be and what legal measures can be taken.
Since 2023, we have held a total of five live seminars and webinars, inviting lawyer Kyosuke Kaneko, who has experience representing victim companies in cases where former employees were sentenced to prison for taking trade secrets overseas, as the lecturer. There has been a great deal of interest, with 5 to 400 people participating, but in the survey, many people expressed a desire for a more detailed explanation. In response to this request, we will be holding a series of three consecutive lectures. If you would like to deepen your understanding of trade secrets, please join us.
[Theme for each session]
　Part 1: Emergency Response - Initial Response and Criminal Actions
　Part 2: Emergency Response - Civil Measures and Internal Disciplinary Actions
　Part 3: Prevention in advance - Secret management and leak prevention -
[Topic of the 2nd session]
What is a trade secret?
- Can an employer demand the use or disclosure of trade secrets brought by a former employee?
- Can a former employee request the return of copies of trade secrets that he or she has taken?
- Can damages be claimed for trade secret infringement?
What procedures must be followed if a non-competition agreement is violated?
- Cases in which non-competition obligations were found to be valid and cases in which they were not found to be valid
- Can an employee be dismissed for taking out information and not receive a severance pay?

Kyosuke Kaneko Attorney at Law
Partner, Hokuto Law Firm

[Biography]
March 19: Graduated from Waseda University Faculty of Law
March 22: Graduated from Keio University Law School
December 24: Joined Axis Law Office (Kyoto Bar Association)
March 4: Joined Hokuto Sogo Law Office (Daiichi Tokyo Bar Association)
May 5: Appointed partner of Hokuto Sogo Law Office

[Main fields of business]
Personnel labor (especially harassment, mentally ill people, personnel system changes, DD, PMI)
Infringement of trade secrets, violation of non-competition obligations
Controlling disputes of family companies, business succession/inheritance
Business Dispute, Litigation