An enforceable restraint of trade can be a key business asset.
Or some might think about it as an insurance policy. The capacity
to preserve customer connections, protect confidential information
and discourage key executives from setting up their own business or
moving to a competitor can be critical to information rich
businesses operating in a competitive market. Ensuring the
currency of your restraint provisions is an important exercise in
risk management.
Experience in this area demonstrates one key distinction which
separates cases where restraints are successfully upheld and those
where compromise outcomes are achieved. In successful cases,
typically, the restraint provision has been drafted quite neatly
around the key protectable interests. When seeking to enforce a
restraint, an employer will be required to show there is a
protectable interest capable of supporting the restraint. This is
the first limb of the test for enforceability. The scope, duration
and
