Contracts negotiated with employees, and even business partners, may include non-compete agreements. Also known as covenants not to compete, non-compete agreements help protect businesses against unfair competition.
Professionals involved in company operations may have access to trade secrets. They also develop relationships while working at the company that they can use for their own gain when they start a similar business or take a job with a direct competitor. Non-competes limit certain economic activity for a set period after the end of a professional relationship.
Discovering that an employee has taken a job with a competitor or started a competing business can lead to anxiety about the future of an organization’s competitive advantages.
Going to court might be necessary
Civil litigation can enforce contract terms. Contracts do not automatically prevent unfair competition. However, they create the structure necessary to respond to that unfair competition. When a former worker or executive is subject to a non-compete agreement and violates that agreement, documenting their infringing activities is the first step toward justice.
Then, the company may work with the lawyer to send a cease and desist letter. If the violation of the agreement does not promptly end, going to court is likely necessary. Civil court judges can enforce penalty clauses, thereby imposing financial consequences on the worker who breached their contract. Judges can also issue injunctions forbidding continued competition against a former employer.
Instead of allowing an employee to misuse what they have learned and the relationships that they developed during their employment, it may be necessary to take legal action. Pursuing business litigation can potentially help companies to protect trade secrets and enforce the terms of protective contracts.