Many business owners in Georgia utilize non-compete agreements to protect their companies. If they do not obtain these contracts from a reputable source, they may find themselves paying for it in the long run. Business litigation over non-competes happens. This can do a lot of damage to a company’s bottom line.
A non-compete agreement is a contract between an employee and his or her employer that states that the employee will not be able to use company information to enter into direct competition with the business if he or she leaves. Company owners depend on these agreements to help protect trade secrets and keep competition to a minimum. These contracts are legally binding if they are written the right way.
It is possible for a former employee to seek to have a non-compete invalidated in court. To do this, he or she would have to prove that the contract oversteps its bounds. In this case, it would be necessary to show the agreement is too restrictive in its requirements regarding geographic scope or length of time.
To save time and money, it may be tempting for Georgia business owners to download standardized non-compete agreements from the internet. The simple truth of the matter is that these standardized forms do not offer the protections one’s company really needs. Company owners can protect their businesses from business litigation over non-competes by turning to an attorney with experience in drafting case-by-case specific non-compete agreements. In doing so, company owners can ensure that the restrictions placed in these contracts meet state standards.