Question

What duty requires an employee to maintain the secrecy of proprietary material, such as trade secrets, intellectual property, and customer data?

a) Duty of loyalty
b) Duty of care
c) Duty of confidentiality
d) Duty of non-competition

Answer 1

The duty requiring employees to maintain the secrecy of proprietary material is the Duty of confidentiality. This ensures that trade secrets and other sensitive business information are kept private, aiding in competitive advantage.

Step-by-step explanation:

The duty that requires an employee to maintain the secrecy of proprietary material, such as trade secrets, intellectual property, and customer data, is c) Duty of confidentiality. This duty is part of the ethical and legal responsibilities of employees and involves not disclosing sensitive information related to the employer's business operations, strategies, or any other proprietary information that can give competitors an advantage. This is distinct from patents, which protect inventions, and copyrights, which protect original works of authorship like books and songs.