The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has issued a final rule barring most existing and future non-compete agreements. Traditionally businesses have tried to use non-compete agreements to prevent the unauthorized disclosure or misuse of proprietary business information (such as trade secrets). In light of these developments, businesses are encouraged to explore alternative ways of protecting their sensitive information, such as strengthening intellectual property rights through patents, trademarks, copyrights, and nondisclosure agreements (aka: NDA’s) as viable substitutes for traditional non-compete agreements