© 2004 SHRM SHRM Weekly Online Poll: March 9, 2004 Trade Secrets Analyzing 247 responses of s sent, 1622 received (response rate = 15%). Fielded March 9 – 15, 2004; presentation generated on March 16, Margin of error is +/- 6.4 %

© 2004 SHRM SHRM Weekly Online Poll: March 9, What measures has your organization taken to protect its trade secrets? (Check all that apply.)

© 2004 SHRM SHRM Weekly Online Poll: March 9, What measures has your organization taken to protect its trade secrets? (Check all that apply.) ChoiceCountPercent of Sample Current and new employees sign nondisclosure agreements (barring employees from disclosing trade secrets after they leave your company) % Departing employees are reminded of their trade secret protection obligation when they leave your organization % To my knowledge my organization has not taken measures to protects its trade secrets (skip to end) % Current and new employees sign noncompete agreements (barring employees from working for competitors) % Developed a written policy on the protection of trade secrets4719.0% Developed procedures for reporting and investigating violations of the trade secret policy % Employees receive training about laws prohibiting employees from disclosing trade secrets % Employees receive training about what constitutes a trade secret and the protection measures your organization has in place 228.9% Consistently enforce employee violations of the trade secret policy228.9% Monitor employee communication (e.g. , telephone, and written) for evidence of trade secret violations 218.5% New employees sign agreements that prevent them from bringing trade secrets from previous employers to your organization 176.9% Other (please specify):187.3%

© 2004 SHRM SHRM Weekly Online Poll: March 9, 2004 Verbatim Responses For Q1 “Other” Category Apply for patents Once reaching the management level, employees sign noncompete agreements part of confidentiality agreement upon hire Patents Policy in employee handbook and all employees sign an acknowledgement form when join Company and whenever a revision is made to the handbook. Policy in employee handbook defined in orientation Promoted employees at a certain level sign noncompete/nondisclosure agreements Targeted execs and marketing folks ONLY when talking about trade secrets There are no "trade secrets" in our business. This is a non-profit organization, church and does not keep secrets from the constituency. We are a Research University and have a wide variety of practices to protect intellectual capital, however not particularly trade secrets. We do have some severance agreements that incorporate non-competes We have all employees read the company's Business Practices Handbook and then take a quiz on line which they must pass to demonstrate their understanding of its contents. The contents do cover the above along with a number of other topics to include ethical issues

© 2004 SHRM SHRM Weekly Online Poll: March 9, Does your organization’s HR function play a key role in protecting trade secrets?

© 2004 SHRM SHRM Weekly Online Poll: March 9, Does your organization’s HR function play a key role in protecting trade secrets? ChoiceCountPercentage Answered Yes % No9246.9%

© 2004 SHRM SHRM Weekly Online Poll: March 9, How does your organization’s HR function play a key role in protecting trade secrets? (Check all that apply)

© 2004 SHRM SHRM Weekly Online Poll: March 9, How does your organization’s HR function play a key role in protecting trade secrets? (Check all that apply) ChoiceCountPercent of Sample By explaining the organization’s trade secret policy during new employee orientation % By ensuring that employees leaving the organization understand their obligation to protect the organization’s trade secrets % By developing the organization’s trade secret policy4317.4% By enforcing the organization’s trade secret policy4217.0% By training employees on the organization’s trade secret policy % By training employees about what constitutes a trade secret and protection measures your organization has in place 228.9% By training employees about laws prohibiting employees from disclosing trade secrets 114.5% Other (please specify):72.8%

© 2004 SHRM SHRM Weekly Online Poll: March 9, 2004 Verbatim Responses For Q3 “Other” Category Developing employment letters which outline nondisclosure Discipline for confidentiality breeches Don't fall in that category Exit interview reminder Investigating potential violations of the trade secret policy The legal dept has a larger role than HR Writing non-comp and trade secret agreements