Restrictive Covenants, Confidentiality and Intellectual Property

Businesses will generally have a legitimate interest in maintaining confidentiality and protecting the proprietorial knowledge and assets of the organisation. 

They may seek to do this by including restrictive covenant, confidentiality and intellectual property provisions within a contract of employment. Conversely employees will want to ensure that if they leave a business they can work in their chosen professions without unreasonable interference from a former employer. 

A restrictive covenant in an employment contract will commonly prohibit an employee from undertaking certain types of activity after employment has ended, such as soliciting the business of a former client when the employee moves to a new employer. The law in respect of enforcement of  restrictive covenants is not always clear and is somewhat different from the law in other jurisdictions (such as England). As a consequence, when questions arise as to the drafting or effect of restrictive covenants, particularly if an employee is considering taking action which may breach a covenant, we strongly recommend that advice is taken at an early stage.

Confidentiality and intellectual property provisions operate to protect and keep secure non-tangible assets of a business, as well as potentially overlapping with other duties such as compliance with data protection law. 

We can provide specialist advice on drafting, interpretation and enforcement of restrictive covenant, confidentiality and intellectual property provisions, as well as advising on applications for injunctive relief and providing representation in the Royal Court.

We can advise individuals on their rights and obligations where a party feels that rights have been infringed, including in terms of potential claims in the Royal Court of Jersey.