First and foremost, trade secrets and trust. Don't tell anyone you don't trust. I know that sounds lame, but it is true if you are serious about protecting a

First and foremost, trade secrets and trust. Don't tell anyone you don't trust. I know that sounds lame, but it is true if you are serious about protecting a secret. It is better to prevent the action in the first place than having to deal with litigation. Trade secrets are enforceable in court, though you basically have to be trying to keep them secret, prove it was secret, etc. So that effectively means beyond just keeping it secret, it's all about contracts. NDAs, non-competes, etc. You can sign your rights away to almost anything in a contract, though non-competes are notoriously weak in California.