A New Partnership Focused on Trade Secret Litigation Financing
Written by Ben Esplin
For years, trade secret misappropriation was the orphan of IP litigation because it was considered too risky for most funders and too expensive for many victims. However, in recent times trade secret misappropriation claims have ballooned in value (see previous piece on this). Now comes recent announcement via IAM Media of a partnership between Tangibly and SIM IP to provide dedicated funding for trade secret claims based on an evidentiary basis recorded on the Tangibly platform. This development represents a massive shift for any company whose value is tied to proprietary know-how (see previous piece on trade secret strategy, and for AI specifically).
Historically, litigation funders gravitated toward patents because they offered a more certain return profile. However, with intellectual property theft now costing businesses nearly $1 trillion annually, the focus is shifting toward trade secrets as a primary asset class. As Tim Londergan of Tangibly recently noted to IAM Media, many companies are currently sitting on untapped trade secret claims without even realizing they have an actionable case. This new funding model allows smaller innovators to finally enforce their rights against much larger, better-resourced opponents.
Tangibly is a platform we use at Esplin & Associates and recommend for our clients interested in implementing a more tightly run trade secrets program. A trade secret is only as good as your ability to prove it exists and demonstrate that you took reasonable measures to protect it. The arrival of data-driven funding makes using Tangibly even more compelling for companies interested in securing the capital needed to fight back. Under the new partnership, the Tangibly platform creates a data input layer for both securing trade secret rights and vetting financing opportunities for IP enforcement.
The current talent wars, especially in the AI sector, mean that valuable know-how is moving between competitors in real-time. By treating trade secret management as a proactive strategic advantage rather than a reactive burden, business leaders can transform their internal knowledge into a recoverable asset. The question is no longer whether you can afford to protect your secrets, but whether you have documented them well enough to attract the resources required to enforce
