Top Five For Small Business —Things to know about protecting intellectual property from employees when they leave your company

The Greater Des Moines Partnership is proud to present a new series focused on issues small businesses face daily. This Top Five series will feature experts in human resources, marketing, accounting, IT and others. They will introduce five things on certain topic that will help you be successful in your small business.

This seminar will involve a discussion of how to protect your company’s confidential and proprietary information at all phases of the employment relationship. We will cover various agreements such as non-compete, non-disclosures and non-solicitation agreements and how to craft those so that courts enforce them. We will also explain best practices for how to protect your patents, trademarks and copyrights.

Matthew Warner-Blankenship is a shareholder at the Davis Brown Law Firm. A registered patent attorney, Matt provides advice and serves as counsel to a diverse group of clients ranging from small entrepreneurial start-ups to large academic institutions and corporate entities. His work for these clients includes managing intellectual property portfolios and drafting and prosecuting patent applications. Matt’s academic scientific background is invaluable to his clients in the medical and biotech industries.

Kelsey Crosse is a trial attorney with Davis Brown Law Firm Litigation Division with an emphasis in the areas of employment law and general litigation including business litigation, commercial litigation and insurance defense. Kelsey zealously represents her clients in both state and federal court and counsels them on how to minimize their liability exposure prior to and during litigation. Kelsey’s clients are diverse and span from insurance companies to businesses of all sizes including start-up companies, professionals, banks and nonprofit organizations. She is currently the Associate Representative to the Firm’s Board of Directors.